Amid raging controversy over rising pollution, state-owned CIL has urged the government to levy an environmental tax on pet coke, which it termed as more polluting than coal. 

"Recently we made recommendation to theCoal Ministry that environmental tax should be imposed on pet coke as it emits large amount of sulphur dioxide in the environment," an official said on conditions of anonymity. 

Pet coke, he said, is more polluting than coal.

Petroleum coke is a high calorific value solid fuel and extensively used for power generation in various countries. 

It is a carbonaceous solid delivered from oil refinery coker units or other cracking processes.

Renaming the Clean Energy Cess as Clean Environment Cess, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech for 2016-17 had proposed to raise the cess on coal, lignite and peat from the current Rs 200 to Rs 400 a tonne. 

Government is likely to get an estimated Rs 23,944.4 crore from clean environment cess in the ongoing fiscal. 

An environment activist had in May moved the National Green Tribunal seeking ban on use of all forms of petroleum coke as it emits fine particulate matter (PM), which is harmful to human health. 

Coal India (CIL) accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production.