Put your money where your mouth is

India is literally wheezing because of its pollution crisis. It's not just breathless amid toxic air, but also drowning in waste. And, yet, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the apex body tasked with fixing this mess since 1974, is caught up in bureaucratic stupor.

CPCB spent 0.2% of the environmental compensation it collected between 2018 and 2024 on pollution mitigation. Of the ₹45.81 cr received in fines and penalties during this period, only ₹9 lakh was spent - and that, too, only in 2024-25.

For the rest of the years, there's no spending record. This, despite CPCB receiving 25% of environmental compensation collected by state boards and levying penalties on many polluters. The scandal here isn't just the inaction - it's the apathy.


India's environmental degradation is a full-blown emergency hurting health, livelihoods, ecosystems across rural and urban India - and the economy. But while pollution spreads unchecked, the body meant to be frontline defence appears content to sit on its war chest. There are countless ways funds could be used: strengthening labs, expanding monitoring networks, conducting compliance studies, investing in capacity-building or improving data systems. Each of these is vital to make CPCB more effective. It's time where it puts its money where its mouth is.

It's not enough to penalise polluters on paper. CPCB must act - urgently, visibly, accountably. If the institution won't use funds at its disposal, how on earth are things going to improve? How will lives be bettered, ecosystems restored, Bharat viksit-ed?

CPCB must stop hiding behind process and paperwork, and start delivering measurable, meaningful action. India doesn't need another fine collector. It needs a pollution watchdog with teeth. And resolve.