NEW DELHI: Renaming the Clean Energy Cess as Clean Environment Cess, the government today proposed to raise the cess on coal, lignite and peat from the current Rs 200 a tonne to Rs 400 per tonne.

"I propose to rename the Clean Energy Cess levied on coal, lignite and peat as Clean Environment Cess and simultaneously increase its rate from Rs 200 per tonne to Rs 400 per tonne," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha.

The government had increased the Clean Energy Cess from Rs 100 to 200 per tonne of coal to finance clean environment initiatives for 2015-16.

