The budgetary allocation for environment and forest sectors is expected to be around Rs 400 crore which is about 60 per cent higher compared with the previous year's allocation.
According to ministry sources, the plan outlay is likely to be hiked to Rs 704 crore during the course of the year.
In this, the environment sector is likely to be given a share of about Rs 390 crore and the forest alongwith the wildlife sector about Rs 314 crore.
The share of the two sectors last year was Rs 230 crore and Rs 209 crore respectively, as per the revised budget estimates of 1997-98.
The environment sector in general will receive a new thrust which is that it will lay stress more on the prevention of pollution than on the post-pollution remedial aspects.
The possibility of the budget providing for a five-year tax holiday for brick makers using flay ash as raw material is not ruled out.
Sources say the ministry has already recommended this to the finance ministry.
Other benefits sought to popularise flay ash use for brick making include custom duty exemption on imports of the concerned machinery and equipment as also excise exemption on those produced indigenously.
The budget provisions are also likely to increase the Union government's share of funding from the present 50 per cent to 100 per cent to fund the Ganga Action Plan.
The higher allocation will help speed up the cleaning operations and the pace of the implementation of the projects under the plan.
This would also mean that the project does not suffer for reasons of resource constraints.
