THE NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY FUND GETS DIVERTED TO COMPENSATE FOR GST

The government of India assigns dedicated funds which is linked to specific cess. This kind of cess One such fund is the National Clean Energy and Environment Fund. In a recent move, there was a diversion of the funds collected as tax for the National Clean Energy and Environment Fund to the states that lost revenue because of GST. Through this move, the unspent funds which were to be used by MNRE have been diverted. This means that from next year, India will not have a National Clean Energy and Environment Fund. Some individuals working in the sustainability sector argued that this amount could have been used in the development of clean coal technologies.
This action is also going to pose a risk to the MNRE as 98% of its budget of which comes from this fund. Not only that, this fund has also aided India in meeting its commitment towards the Paris Agreement. Now that the United States has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, the Clean Energy fund was the only aid which India had to meet its obligations by 2020. Since it does not exist anymore, out fight to protect the environment has become an even bigger challenge.
 
The article covering the same can be accessed here