Parliament Question: Air quality management

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1485 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 Air quality management

1485. SHRI ASHOKRAO SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:

SMT. REKHA SHARMA:

SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI:

DR. DINESH SHARMA:

SHRI BRIJ LAL:

SMT. KIRAN CHOUDHRY:

DR. PARMAR JASHVANTSINH SALAMSINH:

SHRI BABURAM NISHAD:

SMT. RAMILABEN BECHARBHAI BARA:

DR. MEDHA VISHRAM KULKARNI:

SHRI RYAGA KRISHNAIAH:

DR. ANIL SUKHDEORAO BONDE:

SHRI CHUNNILAL GARASIYA:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to

state:

(a) the cities added or upgraded under the National Clean Air Programme during the last three years;

(b) the number of days when severe air quality was recorded in major urban centres during this period;

(c) whether city action plans have met targeted pollution reduction milestones;

(d) if so, the details thereof;

(e) the enforcement actions taken against major polluters, and;

(f) whether any steps have been adopted to improve inter-agency coordination for air quality management; and

(g) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) 130 Non-attainment and Million-plus population cities have been identified under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for improving air quality through implementation of source specific city action plans for the period of five years from 2019-20 till 2025-26.

(b) Details of cities where severe air quality (Air Quality Index (AQI) >400) has been recorded are placed at Annexure I.

(c) to (d) City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared by all 130 cities to implement air quality improvement measures in respective cities. These plans target air pollution sources like soil & road dust, vehicular emissions, waste burning, Construction &Demolition activities, and industrial pollution. The focused actions by 130 cities under NCAP have shown positive results with 103 cities showing reduction in PM10 concentration in 2024- 25 with respect to 2017-18, out of which 64 cities have shown reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20% and 25 of these cities have achieved a reduction of more than 40%. A total of 22 Cities have met National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and have PM10 Concentrations less than 60 μg/m3.

(e) Details of various enforcement measures taken for air quality improvement including the measures taken for Delhi-NCR are enclosed at Annexure II.

(f) to (g) To ensure coordination for implementation of action plans under NCAP, Committees at National Level coordination (Coordination, Apex, Steering, Monitoring and Implementation), State level (Steering and Monitoring) and City level Monitoring and Implementation Committee have been constituted under NCAP coordinate, monitor, evaluate the progress and provide guidance periodically for implementation of city action plans including ensuring convergence of central government schemes and programmes.

NCAP has also been brought under the purview of State and District-level DISHA Committees, enhancing accountability and convergence. NCAP implementation is tracked through the PRANA - Portal for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities; a centralized web portal operationalized for monitoring the implementation of various activities under NCAP. It captures both physical progress and financial progress across all 130 cities (prana.cpcb.gov.in).

To address air pollution in Delhi-NCR through inter agency coordination, Government has established the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems of air pollution in Delhi- NCR and adjoining areas.

State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees, through Consent mechanism under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, monitor the establishment and operation of industries and polluting activities through prescription of pollution control measures and monitoring the compliance of environmental standards.

***Annexure I Details of cities and number of days having Severe Air Quality (AQI>400) during 2023, 2024 and 2025 Number of days having Severe AQI City (AQI >400) 2023 Vijayawada 2 Muzaffarpur 1 Patna 2 Delhi 15 Faridabad 11 Baddi 1 Ujjain 2 Navi Mumbai 1 Ghaziabad 3 Meerut 1 Noida 5 2024 Chandigarh 1 Delhi 17 Baddi 3 Dhanbad 1 Balasore 1 Ghaziabad 3 Noida 2 2025 Delhi 8 Thoothukudi 2 Ghaziabad 14 Meerut 1 Noida 14Annexure-II Details of various enforcement measures taken for air quality improvement  Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India notified industry specific emission and discharge standards under Schedule-I:

‘Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from various Industries’ of Environment Protection Act, 1986. So far, industry specific environmental standards, for 79 industrial sectors (including emission standards for 56 sectors) have been notified. Industrial sectors, for which specific standards are not available, general standards as notified under Schedule-VI of Environment Protection Rules, 1986 shall be applicable.

 CPCB has directed all 17 categories of high pollution potential industries and common waste treatment facilities to install Online Continuous Effluent/ Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) for strengthening monitoring mechanism and effective compliance through self-regulatory mechanism and constant vigil on pollution levels. Real-time values of environmental pollutants of trade effluent and emissions generated through OCEMS are transmitted online to CPCB and concerned SPCB/PCC on 24x7 basis.

Central software processes the data and in case of value of pollutant parameter exceeds prescribed environmental norms, an automatic SMS alert is generated and sent to industrial unit, SPCB and CPCB, so that corrective measures can be taken by the industry immediately and appropriate action can be taken by concerned SPCB/PCC/CPCB.

 About, 7000 industries have installed and connected OCEMS with CPCB server.

During last three years i.e. 2023-25, a total of 412 units were inspected under OCEMS- based inspections. Out of these 412 units, 252 units were found non-complying with environmental norms, against which actions as deemed fit based on the gravity of violation and provisions of the environmental laws has been taken. The details of the

same is as follows:

(a) Closure directions u/s 5 of EPA, 1986: 6,

(b) Show Cause Notices/directions u/s 5 of EPA, 1986: 143,

(c) Directions to SPCBs/PCCs u/s 18(1)(b) of the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981 for further action: 70

(d) Directives in the form of letter to unit: 33  To tackle emissions from industrial sector in Delhi-NCR, CPCB has issued directions to DPCC/NCR SPCBs for Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS) installation in remaining air polluting Red categories (Medium & Large), common facilities and 17 category industries on 01.10.2025 and in Textile, food processing and metal industries on 09.10.2025. Concerned State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have issued closure orders to 315 units for non-compliance of directions in the States of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

 Mandated the installation of Vapour Recovery System (VRS) in new and existing petrol pumps selling gasoline >100kl per month in million plus cities and those selling >300kl per month in cities with population between 1 lakh to 1 million to control vehicular refuelling emissions.

 A centralised air quality portal and mobile app-SAMEER are functional for tracking and dissemination of near real time air quality data and hourly Air Quality Index to the public. CPCB issues a daily bulletin at 04:00 PM comprising AQI of various cities in the country including Delhi-NCR. SAMEER app also serves as a grievance reddressal mechanism which allows the citizens to report pollution related complaints for quick resolution by the concerned agencies. CPCB vide directions dated 12.02.2025 classified a total of 419 industrial sectors and sub-sectors in Red (125), Orange (137), Green (94), White (54) and Blue (9).

 Ban on use of imported pet coke in the country since July 26, 2018, with exception for use in permitted processes.  In 2022, CPCB mandated new brick kilns must use zig-zag technology, vertical shaft, or piped natural gas, and adhere to specific standards. Also, Existing kilns must also convert to these technologies or use approved fuels.

 In 2023, CPCB introduced stricter emission standards (CPCB IV+) for diesel generators (DG sets) up to 800 kW, mandating dual-fuel systems (70% gas, 30% diesel) where gas infrastructure is available and requiring Retro-fit Emission Control Devices (RECD) with a minimum PM capturing efficiency of 70%.

 CPCB published following guidelines (available on website of CPCB)

(a) Environmental Management of Construction & Demolition (C & D) Wastes’ in March, 2017

(b) ‘Guidelines on DUST Mitigation Measures in Handling Construction Material & C&D Wastes’ in November 2017.

(c) Disposal of legacy waste by bio-mining and bio-remediation to address open burning and landfill fires  CPCB has issued direction to all SPCBs/ PCCs for deployment of Anti-Smog Gun and implementation of adequate dust mitigation measures at construction projects/ sites having area more than 20,000 sq. meters. CPCB has issued guidelines/ mechanism for use of anti-smog guns in Construction and Demolition projects.

 CPCB issued directions to all SPCBs/PCCs for enforcement of provision of SWM Rules -2016 regarding bio-mining of legacy waste.  CPCB issued directions to all SPCBs/PCCs for implementation of SWM Rules-2016 regarding fire incidents at MSW dumpsites.

 Entry of commercial goods vehicles conforming to BS-III and below emission standards was restricted in Delhi with effect from 01.11.2025.  To fast-track cleaner mobility, Direction No. 94 dated 03.06.2025, as amended on

23.12.2025 issued by CAQM mandated that Motor Vehicle Aggregators, Delivery Service Providers and E-Commerce Entities shall not induct any conventional ICE vehicles running purely on diesel or petrol into their existing fleets of four-wheeler LCVs, four-wheeler LGVs (N1 category up to 3.5 tonnes) and two-wheelers from

01.01.2026 onwards. However, induction of BS-VI emission standard two-wheelers has been permitted in existing fleets up to 31.12.2026.  Directions were issued by CAQM to shift public transport buses coming from neighbouring States to BS-VI diesel/CNG/EV. From 01.11.2026, only CNG/EV/BS- VI diesel buses, including tourist buses, have been permitted to enter Delhi.

 Entry of Commercial goods vehicles with non BS-VI Low Goods, Medium Goods and High Goods Vehicles into Delhi has been prohibited from 01.11.2025, with limited, time-bound relaxation for BS-IV vehicles up to 31.10.2026.

 To promote Cleaner mobility, aggregators and delivery services have been mandated to induct only CNG or electric three-wheelers and discontinuation of new diesel/petrol vehicles in specified categories from 01.01.2026.

 Enforcement Task Force (ETF), assisted by 40 Flying Squads to conduct incognito inspections for compliance of various directions and extant statutes on matters related to air pollution. CAQM has issued Directions across different sectors and geographical jurisdictions in the NCR, as under (October 2025 to January 2026):

No. of closure directions issued Total State-wise closure directions Industry C&D Sites Misc. Delhi Haryana Uttar Rajasthan Pradesh 60 29 0 89 01 63 24 01 The details of resumptions issued after compliance of the previous and current

Directions of CAQM is given below:

No. of Resumption Order issued Total State-wise Resumption orders issued Industry C&D Sites Misc. Delhi Haryana Uttar Rajasthan Pradesh 37 43 0 80 12 35 29 4  In respect of compliance of Direction No. 76 that mandates retrofitment and compliance of operations of DG sets in Delhi-NCR, 243 DG sets have been inspected during October to December, 2025 and based on the level of non-compliance, sealing orders have been issued for 179 DG sets in 128 entities. Further, show cause notices to 24 DG sets in 11 entities.

 70 Dust Control and Management Cells have been set up by road owning agencies across Delhi-NCR, with regular reviews by the CAQM. States and GNCTD have augmented infrastructure for dust control, including mechanized road sweeping machines, water sprinklers and anti-smog guns.

 In addition, Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Delhi Pollution Control Committee has taken the following actions during last three months for control of air pollution in Delhi-

NCR: a. During GRAP invocation period, implementation of GRAP mechanism was regularly reviewed by Chief Secretary and Environment Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi and necessary directions were issued to implementing agencies for corrective actions.

b. 35 teams have been constituted for conducting regular enforcement drives for identifying polluting activities and taking corrective measures; c. 939 construction sites were inspected and 99 sites were issued show cause notices for non-registration on Dust portal and 74 sites were issued show- cause notice for non-compliance of dust mitigation guidelines;

d. Remote monitoring of construction projects registered on Dust portal and projects were pursued for rectification of deficiencies by way of issuing 303 notices; e. 215 industrial units were inspected to check whether the units are using fuel other than PNG. Show-cause notice was issued to 4 non-compliant units;

f. 255 Diesel Generator Sets were inspected during invocation of GRAP II and III. g. More than 2,800 localities were surveyed to identify construction sites of the plot area more than 500 square meters, which have not registered on Dust portal.

h. 89 locations were inspected where local bodies have granted road cutting permissions. i. Inspection for garbage dumping, C&D waste dumping, unpaved roads and potholes have been conducted and more than 200 notices have been issued to defaulting agencies.

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