According to a report by Greenpeace, there are 139 Indian cities that breach air pollution standards but are not included in the Centre's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).While 102 of these cities were included in the NCAP, the remaining 139 cities were left out.
Key facts:
Of these 313 cities, 241 (77%) had PM10 levels beyond the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
The exclusion of these cities is due to the fact that the government’s list of 102 cities relied on average pollution data until 2015 whereas the current report has relied on 2017 pollution data.
Even if the NCAP were able to reduce pollution by 30% by 2024, 153 cities would still be left with pollution levels exceeding the NAAQS.
About NCAP:
The NCAP was launched by the government in January 2019 and is a ₹300 crore initiative to reduce particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20-30% in at least 102 cities by 2024.
The 102 cities, identified as hotspots of pollution, were asked to submit a plan for how they would address the problem.
Broadly, the plans include increasing the number of monitoring stations, providing technology support, conducting source apportionment studies, and strengthening enforcement.
As part of the NCAP, cities have been given a specified number of days to implement specific measures such as “ensuring roads are pothole-free to improve traffic flow and thereby reduce dust” (within 60 days) or “ensuring strict action against unauthorised brick kilns” (within 30 days).
It doesn’t specify an exact date for when these obligations kick in.
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