The Delhi High court asked the AAP government on Thursday to explain how it is going to spend a green fund worth Rs 700 crore that has largely remained unspent even when people choked on toxic smog in the last two winters.
The Delhi High court asked the AAP government on Thursday to explain how it is going to spend a green fund worth Rs 700 crore that has largely remained unspent even when people choked on toxic smog in the last two winters.
"...inform the court about the proposal to spend Rs 700 crore for mitigation of pollution," a bench of a Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sanjeev Sachdeva said.
The government sat on the fund generated by way of an environment compensation charge (ECC) to improve public transport and cut down on pollution since it came to power in 2015, an RTI query had revealed on Wednesday.
Delhi Pollution Control Committee counsel Sanjeev Ralli informed the court that 25 per cent of ECC is given to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the rest is used by the Delhi government for environment protection.
"Are the projects yielding any results? If the fund is used to mitigate pollution, we want to know how it is used. Which is the nodal agency to spend the fund?" the court asked.
The Supreme Court had in October 2015 ordered the imposition of ECC on light and heavy commercial vehicles entering Delhi. The cess came into force on November 1, 2015.
The SC direction had come after the National Green Tribunal said that commercial vehicles entering city limits must pay — in addition to toll tax — an environment compensation charge. The order had come in the view of pollutant emissions released by goods vehicles. ECC on light commercial vehicles is Rs 700, while for three-axle and above heavy-duty vehicles, it is Rs 1,300.
Amicus curiae Kailash Vasdev informed the court that Rs 66,ooo crore has also been collected in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds. The bench also ordered a more co-ordinated approach to combat pollution.
The Centre said on its part that it was taking steps to start cloud seeding.
"The court is showing urgency, however, the government is not," Vasdev said. "Everything is perfect in law yet we have these issues? We need to understand what measures have been adopted," the court then said.
"You are the custodian. You should take action," said the court that showed two clips, including one from China where a smog tower has been constructed to control pollution. The court listed the matter for November 29.
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