Odd-even missing in Sisodia’s latest plan to combat pollution

188,605 `17 trillion 95%

“By doing this, we can control dust particles. In several countries, such technology is being used to curb dust pollution,” he said two days after the city recorded the worst Diwali night pollution in three years.

He added that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been asked to carry out regular inspections at construction sites with more than 20,000-square metre area.

“Over 90% of dust pollution comes from the construction sites, which need to be regulated. There are 61 major construction sites in Delhi… there are several such small sites and most of them violate laid down rules,” he said.

Sisodia said the government will install chimney smoke-tappers to control emission at 75 cremation grounds where wood fuel is used.

Apart from this, the government also decided to introduce controlled burning at garbage dumps, identified as major sources of harmful air pollutants.

The new measures were announced a few days after government said it will install giant air purifiers and mist sprayers at busy road junctions in the metropolis of 16 million people, identified as among the most polluted cities in the world. NEW DELHI: Indians exported goods and services worth at least `17 trillion over the past four decades but did not remit an equivalent amount in foreign exchange, an HT analysis of classified central bank data shows. This is probably the first measure of how much the economy bled from tax evaders stashing funds offshore.

The amount accounts for a fourth of India’s current Gross Domestic Product. The money, substantially higher now when adjusted against the value of the US dollar, is believed to have been parked in tax havens.

The HT analysis of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, gleaned from 1972 to 2015, shows that 95% of `17 trillionworth exports were siphoned off over the past 10 years.

The RBI data is based on 188,605 export transactions that were not remitted home — as is required under Indian foreign exchange rules. It’s possible that some payments were stuck due to genuine reasons such as defaults during economic downturns, but data show a consistent uptick in under-recoveries over the years.

Phoney export deals are but only one way of stashing illegal funds abroad. Businesses under-invoice their exports and over-invoice imports from tax havens such as Singapore, UAE and Hong Kong. Money laundering in stocks is also among a variety of activities long suspected to have been used unremitted export transactions on which data is based accounts for one-fourth of the country’s current GDP of the amount was siphoned off in the past decade

to avoid taxes.

“It’s very difficult to estimate the black money stashed abroad. But this route (export) is definitely one of the ways in which money is being parked abroad,” said Laveesh Bhandari, economist and co-author of a book on corruption.

Gauging the quantum of illicit funds, or “black money”, Indians hold has been difficult, in part because of lack of data. Over time, Indian regulators have moved to curb tax crimes, including signing stronger disclosure pacts with foreign countries.

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