Pollution control boards aren’t underfunded but investing their surplus into fixed deposits

Pollution control boards aren’t underfunded but investing their surplus into fixed deposits

Subject : Environment

Sec: Pollution

Context: An amount of Rs 2,893 crore found to be invested in fixed deposits by 10 pollution regulators

More on the News:

• A research paper, has raised questions as to whether State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) in India are effectively fulfilling their mandate to control pollution.
• It found that 10 SPCBs/PCCs, all in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), had invested their annual substantial surplus in the form of short, medium-term fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 2,893 crore as of March 31, 2021. The amount should ideally have been invested in manpower, infrastructure and equipment.
• A majority of the Boards examined were found to generate nearly half of their revenues by issuing polluting industries no objection certificates and granting consent to establish and operate.
• This is because central government funding while regular, is inadequate as it is provided only for existing centrally sponsored schemes.
• On the other hand, consistent funding from state governments is largely non-existent. The authors found that no financial support was provided by state governments to their respective SPCBs/PCCs in all but two states.
• Most of the Boards studied struggled to spend the entirety of the surplus they generated for each of the three years. Pay and allowances for staff comprise over half of SPCB/PCC expenditure, with some skewing upwards of 80 per cent.
• Despite the poor state of infrastructure in many states, spending on new infrastructure including lab facilities is low, with some exceptions. Spending on research, development and studies comprise a tiny fraction of overall expenditure across the board.
• All this led to the surplus being invested into fixed deposits.

Central Pollution Control Board: https://optimizeias.com/indias-pollution-control-boards-were-weakened-over-the-last-14-years/