Actual Expenditure of the ‘Environment’ ministry only 63% of budget estimates in the pandemic year of 2020-21
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 7, 2022
Like with most other ministries, the actual expenditure of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change reduced significantly in 2020-21. The actual expenditure in 2020-21 for MoEFCC was only 63% of the initial budget estimates. Trends indicate that the actual expenditure in 2021-22 could also be lower than the initial estimates.
At the COP-26 summit held in Glasgow in November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to cut  India’s total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030. India also committed to reducing the carbon intensity of the nation’s economy by more than 45% by the end of the current decade and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
The programs & projects of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) are critical to achieving these commitments.  In this story, we look at the trends in budget allocation & expenditure of the MoEFCC.
Actual Expenditure in 2020-21 was only 63% of the Budget Estimates for the year
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the budget estimates for MOEFCC increased over the years. In 2016-17, the budget estimates were Rs. 2.25 thousand crores, which increased to Rs. 3.1 thousand crores by 2020-21. However, in the ensuing years starting 2021-22, the allocation was reduced to Rs. 2.86 thousand crores in 2021-22 and Rs. 3.03 thousand crores in 2022-23.
Like with most other ministries, the actual expenditure of the ministry in 2020-21 was affected by the pandemic. Prior to that, the actual expenditure as a share of the budget estimates was higher. In 2016-17, the actual expenditure was Rs. 2.27 thousand crores, 101% of the budget estimates and around 98% of the revised estimates for the year. During 2019-20, the actual expenditure of the ministry was Rs. 2.53 thousand crores, only around 86% of the budget estimates and around 95.5% of the revised estimates. Compared to the previous years, the revised estimates were much lower than the budget estimates in 2019-20.
The fall in the actual expenditure is more prominent in 2020-21, which was only 63% of the budget estimates for the year. The budget estimates for the year were Rs. 3.1 thousand crores, which was revised to Rs. 2.01 thousand crores because of the pandemic and the actual expenditure was still lower at Rs. 1.97 thousand crores.
The revised estimates for 2021-22 were Rs. 2.52 thousand crores, lower than the budget estimates of Rs. 2.87 thousand crores. However, the government has increased the budget estimates for 2022-23 to Rs. 3.03 thousand crores. It remains to be seen if the revised estimates & actual expenditure get back to the pre-pandemic levels.
Actual expenditure on Central Sector & Centrally Sponsored schemes most affected during 2020-21
The fall in the actual expenditure in 2020-21, is primarily due to the reduction in the actual expenditure across various central sector schemes and centrally sponsored schemes.   There has been a fall in the expenditure across all different heads.
Actual expenditure for Ecology & Environment in 2020-21 is only 77% of 2019-20
Among the major expenditure heads under MoEFCC, major spending is done is under ‘Ecology & Environment’. The actual expenditure under this head in 2019-20 was Rs. 1.04 thousand crores. The budget estimates for 2020-21 was Rs. 1.27 thousand crores, but with the pandemic, it was revised to Rs. 787.86 crores. As per the information in the latest budget, the actual expenditure for 2020-21 was only Rs. 803.52 crores.  Similarly, the actual expenditure under ‘Forestry & Wildlife’ related services in 2020-21 were Rs. 475.45 crores compared to Rs. 672.12 crores of budget estimates.
This reduction is also reflected in the actual expenditure under major schemes in 2020-21.
Fall in the Actual Expenditure across various schemes in 2020-21 with a similar trend continuing in 2021-22
As the data indicates, most of the major schemes and projects under the MoEFCC have witnessed reduced expenditure in 2020-21 compared to both the budget estimates and the actual expenditure in 2019-20.
In 2021-22, the budget estimates were at par with the earlier years but were reduced & revised later. The trend of lower actual expenditure could continue even in 2021-22 as was the case in 2019-20.
The Ministry highlighted the progress made under various initiatives in its year-end statement for 2021. As per the Ministry’s statement,
While the reduced expenditure because of the pandemic is understandable, it could significantly impact India’s progress towards meeting its environmental and climate change objectives if amends are not made soon.
Featured Image: Actual Expenditure of the ‘Environment’ ministry