New Delhi, March 17 -- The amount of penalty imposed under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, on any person for contravening the provisions of the respective Acts, shall be credited into the Environment Protection Fund, 2026, Union environment ministry has informed the Lok Sabha. The fund provides the purposes for which it may be utilised.This includes the assessment and remediation of environmental damages and remediation of contaminated sites. Administrative expenses, not exceeding 5% of the amount available in the fund in a financial year, may be used for payment of salaries and other emoluments of staff deployed in the project management unit ; necessary office equipment and furniture for the project management unit; and payment of auditors and legal or other professional services, said Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state for environment, in response to questions by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor had asked whether the government has assessed the potential conflict of interest arising from the Environmental (Protection) Fund Rules, 2026, under which penalties collected under the Air Act, Water Act and Environment (Protection) Act now finance regulatory and administrative functions. "Further, Section 17 of the erstwhile Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was replaced Page 2 of 2 by section 15B, through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which provides the framework for penalising the offences committed by the Government Departments," Singh added....