‘Need clarity on usage of ₹793-cr fund okayed for pollution control’

MUMBAI:SIX cities in the state will receive ₹793 crore from the central government towards controlling air pollution in 2020-21, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said. However, according to MPCB, there is no clarity on where and how the fund needs to be utilised.

During a meeting scheduled on June 12 with the Union environment ministry, the pollution control boards of various states were informed about the disbursement of funds, said VM Motghare, joint director (air quality), MPCB. “The minutes of the meeting were shared with us on Friday, and we can announce that Maharashtra will get ₹793 crore as per the 15th Finance Commission report. However, it is not clear if the disbursed funds will be linked to the Centre’s Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat Missions. Also, we need more clarity on the utilisation of funds and submission of expenditure statements,” said Motghare.

Mumbai will receive the largest chunk of the allocation – ₹488 crore, followed by Pune (₹134 crore), Nagpur (₹66 crore), Nashik (₹41 crore), while Aurangabad and Vasai-virar will get ₹32 crore each.

On February 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech announced ₹4,400 crore for clean air in cities with a population more than one million. The fund was to be made available to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) to 46 cities in India. Soon after, the finance ministry published a document highlighting individual funds to be disbursed to these cities, with separate fund allocations for Swachh Bharat Mission and air pollution mitigation. In March, a parliamentary panel that allocating ₹4,400 crore for air

pollution control was more than the entire budget allocation for the entire Union environment ministry (₹3,100 crore) for 2020-21.

In response, the finance ministry said the allocation would be released based on the improvements in average annual concentrations of both PM 10 and PM2.5, as calculated in January 2021.

Meanwhile, of ₹41 crore allocated, the state received ₹25 crore from the Centre for pollution control