New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Announcing the establishment of a National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) for funding research and innovative projects in clean technologies, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday proposed to levy clean energy cess on coal produced in India as also imported.

'There are many areas of the country where pollution levels have reached alarming proportions. While we must ensure that the principle of 'polluter pays' remains the basic guiding criteria for pollution management, we must also give a positive thrust to development of clean energy,' Mukherjee said while announcing the establishment of NCEF.

The NCEF will be used for funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technologies.

'Harnessing renewable energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is now recognised as a credible strategy for combating global warming and climate change,' he said.

Mukherjee said that to build the corpus of the NCEF, clean energy cess on coal produced in India at a nominal rate of Rs.50 per tonne will be levied. This cess will also apply on imported coal.