NEW DELHI | Aug 11, 2016: Government is likely to get an estimated Rs 23,944.4 crore from clean environment cess in the ongoing fiscal.

"The estimated amount of clean environment cess to be collected by CIL and deposited with the government of India for the year 20116-17 based on the budgeted estimated production of CIL is Rs 23,944.4 crore," Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a reply to Lok Sabha.

Clean Environment Cess is collected from the customers and then deposited with the government, hence, levying of the will have no impact either on the revenue or the cost of production of coal by CIL, the minister said.

At present the rate of Clean Environment Cess is Rs 400 per tonne.

The purpose of clean energy/environment cess was for financing and promoting clean energy initiatives, funding research in the area of clean energy, or for any other purpose relating thereto.

The minister also said various measures were been taken by CIL to bring down the cost of production of coal that included benchmarking of power and diesel consumption, e-reverse auction for finalisation of contracts for explosives implemented and converting unsafe, inviable underground mines to opencast mines.

Renaming the Clean Energy Cess as Clean Environment Cess, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech for 2016-17 had proposed to raise the cess on coal, lignite and peat from the current Rs 200 a tonne to Rs 400 a tonne.

(Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/)