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DPCC used only 43% of environmental damage compensation in past 10 yrs
A DPCC RTI reply shows it spent ₹68.07 crore of ₹158.88 crore collected as environmental damage compensation since 2015-16, a utilization rate of about 43%. The data reveal uneven spending, with 2025-26 showing high collection but relatively low expenditure, and DPCC clarifies ECC is not levied and funding details are not disclosed for specific projects.
Why It Matters
The figures raise concerns about transparency and accountability in how pollution-related funds are used in Delhi, prompting calls for clearer reporting on funded projects and outcomes across pollution-control bodies.
Timeline
6 Events
April 24, 2026: Article published on DPCC fund utilisation
April 24, 2026
The article reports DPCC spent ₹68.07 crore of ₹158.88 crore collected since 2015-16 (about 43% utilization). It includes activist Amit Gupta’s and experts’ calls for transparency on fund usage and notes lack of disclosure on funded projects, also referencing earlier RTIs about EPC and NCAP funding.
April 10, 2026: DPCC RTI reply on ECC and EDC use
April 10, 2026
The DPCC replied to Amit Gupta’s RTI, clarifying that it does not levy environmental compensation charges (ECC) but provided details of environmental damage compensation collected and spent. The data showed DPCC had collected ₹158.88 crore and spent ₹68.07 crore since 2015-16, indicating about 43% utilization. The DPCC did not disclose information on specific projects funded through these expenditures.
February 2026: DPCC 2025–26 data up to February
February 2026
In 2025–26 (up to February), the DPCC recorded EDC collection of ₹36.53 crore but spent only ₹11.38 crore in the same year.
December 25, 2025: HT flags NCAP fund utilization in Delhi
December 25, 2025
HT reported, citing a government report, that Delhi had utilised only ₹26 crore out of ₹81.34 crore collected till that point under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
June 2025: CPCB EPC RTI reveals low utilization
June 2025
An RTI reply obtained by activist Amit Gupta in June 2025 stated that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) spent about 31% or ₹130.9 crore of the ₹427 crore it had collected under the environmental protection charge (EPC) since 2015.
FY2024-25: DPCC's highest EDC expenditure and collection
2025
DPCC data show the highest expenditure under environmental damage compensation in the 2024–25 fiscal year at ₹35.93 crore, with ₹16.63 crore collected in that year.