Govt taking steps to control pollution: Envt Ministry replies to RS MP Kartikeya Sharma

Various comprehensive steps are being taken by the Government to control pollution from
various sources, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a reply to the questions posed by Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma.

(a) whether Government acknowledges the fact that the air in Delhi is not fit enough to breathe;
(b) if so, the reasons for increase in pollution;
(c) the steps taken by Government to reduce pollution level under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP);
(d) the impact of these steps on pollution in Delhi, the details thereof;

(a)to (d): The major sources of air pollution in Delhi NCR which aggravate during the winter due to unfavourable meteorological conditions include industrial pollution, vehicular pollution, dust from construction and demolition activities, road and open areas dust, biomass burning, stubble burning, municipal solid waste burning, fires in sanitary landfills etc. Various comprehensive steps are being taken by the Government to control pollution from various sources; especially, the identified regional sources such as vehicular sector, industrial sector, stubble burning, and others which have shown a gradual improvement in air quality. These actions have had a positive impact on air quality and improvement was noted in the year 2021 as CAAQMS data for Delhi reveals that annual concentration of PM has decreased
gradually since 2016. Despite increase in number of vehicles, growing population, increased industries activities and adverse meteorology, 27% reduction in PM10 and 22% in PM2.5 in Year 2021 w.r.t 2016 in Delhi was observed. The comparative Particulate Matter (PM) averages and air quality index data is given as Annexure-I. The steps taken by the Government to improve the quality of air in Delhi including under
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)is given as Annexure-II.

(e) whether the pollution in Delhi and other cities of the country can be reduced by NCAP; and
(f) if not, whether Government has proposed plans to run more such clean air campaigns?

(e) & (f): Under NCAP, city specific air action plans have been rolled out for implementation in 132 non-attainment cities and million plus cities including Delhi with a target to reduce air pollution levels across the country. These annual action plan with micro detailing of actions approved under city plans, include overall & annual targets, financial details, timelines and responsible agencies.
The activities under city specific action plan include strengthening of ambient air quality network, source apportionment studies, dust mitigation equipment, composting units, infrastructure for non-motorized transport, shifting to clean energy in unorganized sectors, etc. City specific action plans are regularly monitored by committees at central; apex, steering, monitoring and implementation committee; at state; steering, implementation committee and at city level implementation and monitoring committee. it focuses on multisectoral sources of pollution including power plants, industries, vehicles, open burning of waste, construction & demolition activities, etc.; inter-ministerial coordination for convergence of actions and interventions; and partnership with institutes of national repute and international agencies as knowledge partners. PRANA, a portal for regulation of airpollution in non-attainment cities supports racking of physical as well as financial status of city air action plan implementation and disseminates information on air quality to public. Under NCAP, grant of Rs. 855.51 crores has been released for initiating actions under city action plan during FY 2019-20 to 2022-23 (till January 25, 2023) including Delhi where grant of Rs 33.75 crores has been released to Delhi for initiating actions under city action
plan. Out of 131 identified cities, decrease in PM10 Concentration has been observed in 95 cities
during 2021-22 as compared to levels during FY 2017-18 including Delhi.