Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today sought an upward revision in water cess rates saying that it would strengthen the financial position of the state pollution control boards.
At a meeting with Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar, he said that water cess rates have not been revised since May, 2003 and urged that such a move was imperative for strengthening the financial position of the state boards.
"Due to the ever-increasing work load of state pollution control boards, there is a genuine need to increase their financial resource base, which is why this revision is urgently required," he said.
Flagging the case of change in criteria for the allocation of receipts collected by way of Water Cess, Badal said that levies collected under Water Cess Act, 1977, were to be first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India after which 80 per cent of such earning was reimbursed to the state boards.
But the reimbursement takes a long time and thus hampers the functioning of the state boards, Badal said as he urged the Javadekar that state boards be allowed to retain 80 per cent of the water cess share and transfer the balance to the environment ministry.
Badal, meanwhile, also sought Javadekar's personal intervention for directing his ministry to expedite environmental clearances for 62 mining projects in Punjab.
Likewise, Badal said that as 45 mines have been allotted to Executive Director, Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Ltd, Chandigarh, MoEF has now been requested to grant the clearances in the name of the said official.
Referring to the cleaning of Budha Nullah in Ludhiana, the Punjab chief minister told Javadekar that a bio-remediation project was sanctioned by MoEF in April, 2012, at a cost of Rs 15.28 crore for construction of five green bridges.
Of these, three green bridges have been completed and the remaining two would be ready by March 15, 2015, Badal said even as he urged the Union minister that five more green bridges be constructed under the project as the downstream of the Nullah was about 16-km long.
Javadekar assured Badal of the Centre's support and cooperation and said that MoEF would soon take a call on the vital issues raised by him.
