New Delhi: The budget allocation for Environment Ministry has increased by 10.4 per cent or Rs 2,954.72 crore from the last fiscal year for 2019-20.
Having a vision for "pollution-free India with Green Mother Earth and blue skies", the Union Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, allocated Rs 460 crore for pollution control schemes, including National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
In the last fiscal year, the budget allocation for pollution control schemes was of merely Rs 5 crore. As the budget is also termed as "green budget" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several initiatives are being encouraged by the government, which includes promoting electric vehicles, reducing air pollution and encouraging afforestation.
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For faster adoption of electric vehicles and to make them affordable for the consumers, the Finance Minister proposed lowering of GST on EVs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent and to provide additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on the loans taken to purchase EVs.
She also said that the government will use the LED bulb mission to promote the use of solar stoves and battery chargers in the country. "For good quality of life and ease of living, maintaining a cleaner environment.. 35 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of Rs 18,341 crore annually," she added.
For sustainable solid waste management, she also proposed to expand the Swachh Bharat mission in every village.
