Why in the news
The Union Government notified detailed rules in January 2026 to operationalise the Environmental (Protection) Fund, a reform enabled by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023.
About
- A statutory fund of the Government of India created to channel environmental penalties into pollution control, restoration, monitoring, research, and capacity building.
- Converts monetary penalties into direct environmental remediation.
Legal basis
- Provided under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Detailed rules notified in January 2026.
- Strengthened by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, which decriminalised several environmental offences while retaining penalties.
Nodal authority
- Administered by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or any body notified by the Central Government.
Aim
- Ensure that pollution penalties are recycled for environmental protection, remediation, clean technology promotion, and stronger regulatory institutions.
Key features
- Sources of funds
- Penalties under the Air Act 1981 and Environment Act 1986
- Interest from investments
- Other prescribed sources
- Permitted uses (11 activities)
- Pollution prevention and mitigation
- Remediation of contaminated sites
- Environmental monitoring equipment
- Clean technology research
- IT enabled regulatory systems
- Laboratory infrastructure
- Capacity building of regulatory bodies
- Revenue sharing
- 75% of penalty proceeds to the Consolidated Fund of the State or UT
- 25% retained by the Centre
- Governance: Dedicated Project Management Units at Central and State levels
- Oversight and transparency
- Audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
- Centralised online portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board
| [2019] Consider the following statements: The Environment Protection Act, 1986 empowers the Government of India to:Â
1. State the requirement of public participation in the process of environmental protection, and the procedure and manner in which it is sought 2. Lay down the standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 |
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