MPCB all set to double revenues

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is all set to collect over Rs 70 crore as annual revenue in 2005-06, which is more than double the Rs 31.72 crore mopped up last year.

"This year we are expecting Rs 72 crore in revenues. Water cess from the local bodies this year has played an important role in raising collections," said D B Boralkar, secretary member, MPCB. MPCB sources also said arrears from local bodies all over the state, seizing bank guarantees of the defaulters and making more industrial units accountable, have helped the pollution board increase collection.

MPCB officials said that the process of bringing more units under the MPCB purview will continue. In 2004-05, there were 5,000 units, which has touched 7,200 this year.

MPCB derives its revenue from the license (consent) fee charged from the units for a specific duration of time, in addition to which, there are charges for analysing the samples taken from the industries and local bodies.

Sources said that the consent fee depends on the turnover of the units. "Those who did not go for the common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) have been dealt with in a tough manner. We have seized the bank guarantees of those defaulters (industrial units), who did not follow the norms of discharging the effluent," they added.

Municipal bodies from the Pune, Nagpur and Navi Mumbai areas have also paid their cess arrears. The Pune Municipal Corporation has paid Rs 76 lakhs as cess.

Some civic bodies such as that of Nagpur have come forward with installments. It is learnt that the Nagpur civic body which owes around Rs 4 crore to the pollution board, has given a sum of Rs 25 lakh recently as its first installment. The MPCB also managed to recover cess of Rs 10 crore from Tata Power and Rs 7 crore from Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS).

The board is also planning to take its accounting system online in order to have the regular updates from all the regional centres in the state. Sources said that once the system is incorporated, MPCB will be able to keep an eye on the accounts of its regional centres. All centres would have to update MPCB about their transaction on a daily basis, sources added.