NEW DELHI: Twenty-one cities including Greater Mumbai, Varanasi, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Trichy and Tuticorin have reduced the concentration of critical air pollutant PM10 by more than 40% in 2023-24 compared to 2017-18 levels, according to the latest compilation of data from 131 cities made by the environment ministry.
Though these 21 cities have met the target of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) two years in advance, most of them including Greater Mumbai, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Dehradun and others have still not met the acceptable limit (national standards) of keeping PM10 concentration within the annual average levels of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).
For example, Greater Mumbai reduced PM10 levels by nearly 42% (from 161 µg/m3 in 2017-18 to 94 µg/m3 in 2023-24) but city continues to be in polluting category due to not meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). On the other hand, the reduction of over 40% in the pollutant levels put Trichy, Tuticorin (both in Tamil Nadu) and Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh) in the list of 18 cities which meet those standards of being clean cities.
Under NCAP launched in 2019, the ministry had planned to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2025-26 from the baseline year 2017-18. Overall, 95 out of 131 polluting cities have shown improvement by reducing levels of PM10 in varying percentages where 18 of them have, so far, reached the acceptable limit of this critical air pollutant. PM10 (particulate matters that do not exceed 10 micrograms in diameter) is small enough to enter the lungs through breathing causing serious health hazards.
Data on improvement in air quality in these cities was shared by the ministry at a function to observe ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in Jaipur on Sept 7 where Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav awarded nine cities in three different categories for better implementation of different actions for mitigating air pollution under NCAP.
Surat, Jabalpur and Agra were awarded for being the top three cities in the million-plus population category, whereas Firozabad, Amravati and Jhansi received the award in the category of 3-10 lakh of population, and Raebareli, Nalgonda and Nalagarh in the category of less than three lakh of population. Except for Nalgonda in Telangana, none of these cities, however, figured in the list of 18 which met the national standards for clean air. The cities were awarded under the ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan’ 2024 on the basis of different mitigation measures where the weightage of improving PM10 levels is merely 2.5% in this annual survey.
High-polluting cities such as Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nasik and Kota too recorded improvement in terms of reducing PM10 to an extent, but the levels of pollutant there are still quite far away from the acceptable limit. Delhi reduced the level of PM10 from 241 µg/m3 in 2017-18 to 208 µg/m3 in 2023-24 (nearly 14% decline) but the city continues to be highly polluting by recording pollutant levels by more than three times of the national standards.
Under NCAP, city action plans (CAPs) have been prepared by all 131 ‘non-attainment’ cities and are being implemented by urban local bodies. The non-attainment cities are those which did not conform to the NAAQS during 2011-15.
The Centre has earmarked nearly Rs 20,000 crore for these cities during 2019-20 to 2025-26, out of which 49 million plus population cities are funded under the 15th Finance Commission air quality grant and remaining 82 cities by the environment ministry. So far, over Rs 11,211 crore has been released to these cities to implement CAPs.
Though these 21 cities have met the target of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) two years in advance, most of them including Greater Mumbai, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Dehradun and others have still not met the acceptable limit (national standards) of keeping PM10 concentration within the annual average levels of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).
For example, Greater Mumbai reduced PM10 levels by nearly 42% (from 161 µg/m3 in 2017-18 to 94 µg/m3 in 2023-24) but city continues to be in polluting category due to not meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). On the other hand, the reduction of over 40% in the pollutant levels put Trichy, Tuticorin (both in Tamil Nadu) and Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh) in the list of 18 cities which meet those standards of being clean cities.
Under NCAP launched in 2019, the ministry had planned to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2025-26 from the baseline year 2017-18. Overall, 95 out of 131 polluting cities have shown improvement by reducing levels of PM10 in varying percentages where 18 of them have, so far, reached the acceptable limit of this critical air pollutant. PM10 (particulate matters that do not exceed 10 micrograms in diameter) is small enough to enter the lungs through breathing causing serious health hazards.
Data on improvement in air quality in these cities was shared by the ministry at a function to observe ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in Jaipur on Sept 7 where Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav awarded nine cities in three different categories for better implementation of different actions for mitigating air pollution under NCAP.
Surat, Jabalpur and Agra were awarded for being the top three cities in the million-plus population category, whereas Firozabad, Amravati and Jhansi received the award in the category of 3-10 lakh of population, and Raebareli, Nalgonda and Nalagarh in the category of less than three lakh of population. Except for Nalgonda in Telangana, none of these cities, however, figured in the list of 18 which met the national standards for clean air. The cities were awarded under the ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan’ 2024 on the basis of different mitigation measures where the weightage of improving PM10 levels is merely 2.5% in this annual survey.
High-polluting cities such as Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nasik and Kota too recorded improvement in terms of reducing PM10 to an extent, but the levels of pollutant there are still quite far away from the acceptable limit. Delhi reduced the level of PM10 from 241 µg/m3 in 2017-18 to 208 µg/m3 in 2023-24 (nearly 14% decline) but the city continues to be highly polluting by recording pollutant levels by more than three times of the national standards.
Under NCAP, city action plans (CAPs) have been prepared by all 131 ‘non-attainment’ cities and are being implemented by urban local bodies. The non-attainment cities are those which did not conform to the NAAQS during 2011-15.
The Centre has earmarked nearly Rs 20,000 crore for these cities during 2019-20 to 2025-26, out of which 49 million plus population cities are funded under the 15th Finance Commission air quality grant and remaining 82 cities by the environment ministry. So far, over Rs 11,211 crore has been released to these cities to implement CAPs.