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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, Aug 8: The Cabinet has cleared a proposal by the Environment Ministry to raise water cess charged to the industry by nearly three times the current levels. There would be no changes in charges for domestic use and for hydel power generation.
This proposal was first mooted two years ago but shot down in the Cabinet after severe pressure from the industry associations. It will now go to the Parliament for approval.
The new proposal also expands to the scope of the charge to cover all sectors of industry. It was earlier limited to only 17 sectors which are considered water guzzlers and highly polluting like pulp and paper and cement.
The cess is levied under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act 1977 on the industry according to the characteristics of pollution load of each industry. It depends on the elements present; whether they are biodegradable or not and to what extent.
