UT among 33 cities with falling air quality
Chandigarh has figured among 33 cities in the country where the pollution level has increased in the past five years.
In January 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) with an aim to improve air quality in 130 cities (nonattainment cities and million plus cities) through implementation of national, state and city-level clean air action plans.
The programme envisages a reduction in PM10 level up to 40% or achievement of national standards (60 microgram/cubic meter) by 2025-26.
In reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Parliament session, Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, stated that city specific clean air action plans had been prepared by all cities to implement air quality improvement measures in respective cities. These plans target air pollution sources like soil and road dust, vehicular emissions, waste burning, construction and demolition activities, and industrial pollution.
An amount of Rs 11,211.13 crore was provided to cities during 2019-20 till 2023-24 under the programme. In addition to this, the NCAP emphasises the implementation of City Action Plans (CAPs) through the convergence of resources from various Central Government schemes such as Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), AMRUT, Smart City Mission, SATAT and Nagar Van Yojana, as well as resources from state governments/UT Administration and agencies like municipal corporations and urban development authorities.
Owing to efforts made under the programme, 97 cities, out of a total of 130, have shown improvement in air quality in terms of annual PM10 concentrations in FY 2023-24 with respect to the levels of FY2017-18. As many as 55 cities have achieved reduction of 20% and above and 18 cities have met National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) for PM10 ((60 µg/m3) in 2023-24.
According to the minister, the PM10 concentrations in Chandigarh increased from 114 µg/m3 in 2027-18 to 116 µg/m3 in 2023-24.
“This pattern indicates that while control measures may have successfully mitigated gaseous pollutants, possibly through stricter vehicle emission standards (BS6) and industrial regulations, the challenge of managing particulate matter (PM10) persists,” said Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Professor of Environment Health, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI.
The slight increase in PM concentration could be attributed to factors such as rapid urbanisation often leading to higher dust emissions from construction sites, inadequate road maintenance and sweeping practices, which contribute to the re-suspension of dust by vehicular movement, and airborne particles from nearby cities or industrial regions, that can significantly affect local air quality, especially during unfavourable weather conditions, he added.
