Budget hope for Assam's climate resilience

Climate change's impact, which precipitates extreme weather events in Assam and neighbouring states, is a grim reminder for the states to allocate adequate budgetary resources towards reducing carbon emissions. A host of announcements made in the Assam Budget for the current financial year, presented by the state's new Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah in the state assembly on Friday, which are aimed at reducing carbon emissions, environmental protection and forest conservation, are a decisive step by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government in the right direction. The introduction of a green cess, based on the 'polluter pays' principle, will ensure that those responsible for environmental degradation also fund environmental protection, as highlighted in Finance Minister Mallabaruah's maiden budget speech. The Green Cess will discourage polluting units from stopping the irresponsible and careless act of causing pollution and encourage greener practices. The Green Cess will be levied on stone crushers, coke-based industries, brick kilns, the transfer of second-hand vehicles, commercial groundwater extraction and other notified polluting activities. As the proceeds are proposed to fund afforestation, pollution control, biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, green energy and sustainable infrastructure, the collected green cess will strengthen availability of funds for activities initiated by the government for environmental protection. The budget plan includes an important step to encourage clean energy by expanding Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG), with Oil India Limited setting up five CBG plants in Assam and creating a specific CBG policy. Expeditious introduction of the dedicated CBG policy will play a crucial role in achieving this budget goal. The proposed establishment of a new CBG project at Kalgachia, Barpeta, in partnership with Suzuki R&D Centre India, NDDB and North East Dairy and Foods Limited, has raised hope for further strengthening the state's clean energy ecosystem. The proposal to use drones for aerial seeding of inaccessible areas aims to accelerate afforestation and restore degraded landscapes, but implementation presents a major obstacle. Monitoring the survival and growth of the trees will be essential to critically evaluate the budgetary support for such a massive afforestation drive. Apart from aggravating the impact of climate change, the degraded landscapes on hill slopes have also deepened the landslide crisis in Assam and neighbouring states. Practical experiences have reinforced the harsh reality that restoring degraded forests and greenery on the hill slopes is essential for slope stabilisation; the landslide problem cannot be addressed merely by adopting engineering solutions, such as the construction of stronger retaining walls in landslide-prone areas. Communities living in landslide-prone areas can be mobilised to collaborate with the Forest Department and Soil Conservation Department to supplement such aerial seeding activities by undertaking plantations in their communities. When a landslide occurs, the communities living near the site suffer the most because it disrupts communication and delays development activities. The expansion of the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network across Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Darrang, Baksa, Kokrajhar, Nagaon and the Barak Valley for bringing clean and affordable energy to more households, highlighted in the budget speech, is a forward-looking initiative. Fast-tracking the PNG network project is essential to contribute to the country's efforts to reduce dependence on LPG imports and strengthen resilience against external supply shocks, as witnessed during the US-Israel conflict with Iran. The budget speech mentions that Assam has already provided over 13,500 domestic PNG connections and established 46 CNG stations, accelerating the transition to cleaner fuel for homes, businesses and vehicles, but given the uncertainty over the restoration of peace in the Middle East, there is no scope for complacency over these figures. The proposal to reduce VAT on piped natural gas from 14.5% to 5% is to reduce household energy cost, promote cleaner fuel and support city gas expansion; it is a laudable initiative. Even though this proposal will cause some revenue loss, the gains will be far more significant, as it will reduce the dependency of more people on LPG cylinders and augment savings from reduced fuel expenditure for households, restaurants and small businesses. A reduced subsidy bill due to a reduction in LPG cylinder use will also help offset a part of the revenue loss on account of the VAT reduction. The finance minister's announcement regarding a 3% reduction in motor vehicle tax for the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) will incentivise electric mobility, but the desired pace of electric mobility will continue to depend on the upfront cost of EVs and the density of charging infrastructure to reduce range anxieties for EV owners. Environmental protection and conservation are crucial for the long-term sustainability of infrastructure and other development initiatives supported with budgetary allocations. Legislators can effectively help the state government improve Assam's ability to handle climate challenges by setting aside a specific portion of their MLA area development scheme fund for environmental protection projects.