Records of Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) collections in Delhi were missing for 280 days, while ₹843.12 crore collected under the charge remained unspent as of March 31, 2025, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) performance audit tabled in the Delhi assembly on Monday flagged.
The ECC is fee levied on commercial vehicles entering Delhi to mitigate air pollution. It was imposed by the Supreme Court in 2015 and is collected by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), with the proceeds subsequently deposited into the Delhi government account. The charge is intended to discourage polluting vehicles from entering the Capital and fund measures to improve public transport and pedestrian infrastructure.
According to the CAG report, titled State Finances for Year 2024-25, the then Delhi government’s transport department’s Pollution Control Division provided data showing that ₹1,624.63 crore was collected as ECC between 2015-16 and 2024-25.
However, the report stated that data did not include collections for two periods – between April 6 and April 26, 2018, covering 21 days, and between December 18, 2020, and September 2, 2021, covering 259 days. The CAG sought an explanation for the missing data, but the report stated that no response was received.
The audit also flagged the limited utilisation of the funds. Of the ₹1,624.63 crore collected over the decade, only ₹781.51 crore had been spent by March 31, 2025, leaving ₹843.12 crore unspent.
ECC collections were highest in the initial years, rising from ₹144.06 crore in 2015-16 to ₹358.11 crore in 2016-17 and ₹472.63 crore in 2017-18. Collections subsequently declined, falling to ₹95.3 crore in 2023-24 and ₹93.54 crore in 2024-25. The lowest annual collection, ₹39.4 crore, was recorded in 2021-22 during the pandemic period.
Expenditure on the charge remained limited for much of the period. No expenditure was recorded in 2015-16, while ₹0.93 crore was spent in 2016-17 and ₹0.15 crore in 2017-18. Spending rose to ₹271.43 crore in 2018-19 before falling to ₹9 crore in 2019-20. No expenditure was recorded in the following three financial years. A further ₹500 crore was spent in 2023-24.
Overall, five of the 10 years covered by the audit recorded no expenditure from ECC funds. The audit also sought information on whether the Delhi government – then led by the Aam Aadmi Party – had framed a policy for utilisation of the ECC collected, referring to the Supreme Court’s order of April 10, 2018.
The findings raise questions about both the monitoring of ECC collections and the utilisation of the substantial funds accumulated through the charge, which was intended to support measures aimed at improving Delhi’s public transport and road infrastructure.
The audit also flagged deficiencies in the accounting procedure followed by the Delhi government. It said ECC collections were being deposited directly into the public account, whereas, since the charge is a Delhi government receipt, it should first be recognised in the Consolidated Fund of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and subsequently transferred to the public account. “Thus, the accounting procedure followed by Delhi government in respect of ECC was found to be deficient,” the report said.
Paras Singh is a New Delhi-based journalist with Hindustan Times, where he serves as Deputy Metro Editor. He reports on urban governance, the Delhi government, the Delhi BJP, water management, the environment, communities and city life. He joined Hindustan Times in 2021 after beginning his journalism career at The Times of India in 2016, where he covered civic bodies, the water and power sectors, and urban infrastructure. Over the last decade, some of his reporting has led to significant public impact, with investigations into environmental violations, corruption and illegal industrial activity contributing to multiple judicial interventions by the National Green Tribunal and the Delhi High Court. A graduate of St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, Paras studied journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi. Having extensively covered the capital's evolving civic and governance landscape, his recent work increasingly explores Delhi's history, built heritage, urban evolution and the relationship between people and place, alongside continuing to report on governance and public policy.Read More
