Cities Lag in Pollution Control Funding Under NCAP

The environment ministry has stipulated that cities must utilize at least 75% of funds received under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to qualify for the upcoming financial year's allocations. This mandate follows observations that only Rs 769.83 crore of the total Rs 13,236.80 crore disbursed has been used.

The National Clean Air Programme, launched in 2019, aims to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate pollution by 2026 using the year 2019–20 as the baseline. Among the 130 cities involved, varying levels of fund utilization reveal significant disparities.

While 65 cities have used more than 50% of funds, cities like Delhi and Noida have struggled, utilizing only about 20% and 13% of their allocations, respectively. Such poor performance calls for urgent action to meet clean air targets.