The environmentalists have all reasons to go green and blues at the same time. The Santa budget has brought something for everyone pleasing every section of society. On same point whereas the union budget has given all reason to some section of people to smile, the environmentalists have their own reasons to shrink eyebrows.
The Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has announced a special package for the conservation of the big cats considering tigers under grave threat.
The big cat found a place in the budget, which mentioned a special allocation of Rs 50 crore to the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The bulk of the grant would be used to raise a special armed Tiger Protection Force.
The Finance Minister was highly applauded by the environmentalists for announcing a permanent institutional mechanism for development and coordination for various aspects of climate change besides grant of Rs 50 crore.
The experts however, are of the view that the tiger protection force should get legal protection form National Tiger Conservation Authority, if that does not happen, the aim of creating the force would fail.
But what has infuriated environmentalists is Chidambaram’s announcement of reducing excise duty on nano cars. The consequence of this favour, they say, would adversely affect the environment, as more and more small cars would flood the entire roads.
R K Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who has been awarded the Padma Bhushan-the highest civilian awards for his immense contribution to the field of environment has his own point of concern.
“If tax concessions had been linked to the fuel efficiency rather than size, it would have been more environment friendly,” he says.
Pachauri has been against the increasing number of small cars terming them as air pollution hazard.
The environmental experts say that lowering of taxes on small cars would encourage trade of diesel cars, an enemy to environment.
The finance minister has cut duty on two- and three-wheelers, besides announcing steep markdowns for green and hybrid vehicles. Commercial vehicles, too, has brought under tax reduction benefit. The excise duty reduces for buses to 12% and trucks to 14%. This will bring down prices by Rs 20,000-Rs 40,000.
The excise benefits signal the government’s intention to encourage the growth of public transport, which would help in reducing air pollution.
The Finance Minister’s announcement to lesser the duty on bus chassis by 4 percent has been welcomed by environmentalists as a ‘cosmetic change.’
The FM however, advocated the need for promoting clean technology and spoke about the review of fuel emission and efficiency regulation, use of gas and building sustainable Greenfield cities.
He stated our country could replace wood with solar energy as the fuel of common use, and encouraged the use of gas, which is the most benevolent hydrocarbon.
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