Pollution cess on cars a welcome step: CSE on budget

Green body CSE today welcomed the Centre's move to integrate pollution concerns with the Union budget and send signals to discourage polluting technologies but said several concerns, including the proposed tax sops for developers to provide housing, remained unaddressed.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said pollution cess on cars is a "welcome step" and the differentiated tax based on pollution potential of technologies and 'polluter pay principle' is an important step forward.
Terming pollution and traffic situation in Indian cities as a "matter of concern", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while unveiling the Union budget, proposed to levy an infrastructure cess of 1 per cent on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5 per cent on diesel cars of certain capacity and 4 per cent on other higher engine capacity vehicles and SUVs.

CSE said that doubling of clean energy cess on coal and lignite is a step forward but needs a robust plan for spending to speed up clean energy transition.
The Union budget has renamed the clean energy cess on coal as 'Clean Environment Cess' and doubled the amount from Rs 200 per tonne to Rs 400 per tonne.
"This has enormous revenue potential that can be made available for clean energy transition and environment management. Till 2014-15, almost Rs 17,000 crore was raised for Clean Energy Fund through this cess on coal.

"With the increased cess of Rs 400 per tonne, the government will collect an additional Rs 25,000 crore in 2016-17. However, there are concerns that this fund is not being effectively utilised for clean energy transition. Till August 2015, not a single rupee was disbursed for renewable energy projects," CSE said.

The Union budget has not put any hard money to promote bus transport, it said.
It also said the tax sop for affordable housing should be linked with affordability of the unit and not area.
The green NGO said the Finance Minister has proposed 100 per cent tax rebate for profits to an undertaking from a housing project for flats up to 30 sq. Metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. Metres in other cities approved during June 2016 to March 2019, and completed within three years of the approval.