New Delhi: Despite spending Rs 6,822 crore under the National Clean Air Programme since 2023, 83 per cent of the cities covered under the initiative still have poor air quality. This data was revealed by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in the Lok Sabha on August 10 in response to a question on NCAP funding, asked by Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj.
In Maharashtra alone, all 19 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities, including Mumbai, have consistently exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 over the last 3 years, despite spending more than Rs 800 crore on air pollution control, the response shows.
NCAP was launched in 2019 by the environment ministry to improve air quality in 130 ‘non-attainment’ cities, which did not achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 60 µg/m³ for PM10 concentration.
PM 10, or particulate matter less than 10 mm in diameter, is a type of air pollutant which rises from dust, construction material, transport sector exhausts, and even from pollen. While NCAP specifically focuses on PM10, there are also other kinds of air pollutants like PM2.5, or particulate matter less than 2.5 mm in diameter, which is more dangerous.
Under NCAP, each city had a target to reduce particulate matter pollution by 40 per cent by 2025-26. However, according to the MOEFCC’s response in the Lok Sabha, of the total 130 cities, only 26 cities have managed to actually achieve the target. At the same time, only 14 cities, or less than 10 per cent of the cities listed under the programme, met the NAAQS for PM 10 concentration in 2025-26.
Which cities are doing badly?
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, and Guwahati all exceeded NAAQS standards for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 (until July). Since the programme was rolled out in 2019, the government has spent more than Rs 16,423 crore on cleaning the air in the 130 cities.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of cities under NCAP – 13, 19, and 17 respectively. While none of Maharashtra’s cities has air quality below the national safe standards, 16 out of 17 UP cities also exceed the NAAQS. In Andhra Pradesh, 8 out of 13 cities do not meet the set standards.
Similarly, all three cities from Bihar, all four cities from Gujarat, and all seven cities of Odisha covered under the programme have failed to meet the required air quality standards.
“NCAP … aims for sustained air-quality management through infrastructure, local action plans, and institutional mechanisms,” read the ministry’s response.
It did not specify which cities met the standards and which did not; however, an analysis of the numbers indicates that all major cities failed to comply with the NCAP goal and failed to reduce their air pollution to meet NAAQS.
(Edited by Aakriti Handa)