Parliament Question: Funds utilised under National Clean Air Programme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4985 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 Funds utilised under National Clean Air Programme 4985. SHRI BALRAM NAIK PORIKA: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) the details of funds allocated and utilised under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the percentage reduction in PM levels achieved in the 131 non-attainment cities during 2.5 the last three years; (b) the number of cities that met the annual targets and the status of city-specific action plans; (c) the progress of afforestation under Green India Mission and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), including area covered and survival rate of plantations; and (d) the steps taken to meet India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets under Paris Agreement and the status of International Climate Finance received? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) & (b) : Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 82 cities are funded under ‘Control of Pollution’ scheme of MoEF&CC and remaining 48 Million-plus cities/Urban Agglomerations are funded under 15th Financial Commission (XV FC) air quality grants. An amount of Rs. 14,029.23 crore has been provided since FY 2019-20 till data, as a performance based incentive and critical gap funding to 130 cities across 24 States/UTs for implementing air quality improvement measures under NCAP. Cities have reported the utilization of Rs. 10,611.52 crore (75.6%) on PRANA portal. Under NCAP, City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared and rolled out for implementation in all 130 non-attainment/million plus cities. These action plans target specific air polluting sources like Soil & road dust, vehicular pollution, Waste and biomass burning, construction and demolition activities, and industries. The focused and coordinated actions by 130 cities under NCAP have shown positive results with 103 cities showing reduction in PM concentration in 2024-25 with respect to 2017-18, 10 64 cities have shown reduction in PM levels by more than 20% with respect to base year 10 2017-18 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 PM Concentrations 10 less than 60 μg/m3. PM2.5, being a subset of PM10, is inherently addressed under NCAP through the broader regulatory framework and implementation strategy aimed at reducing overall particulate matterlevels. Out of the 130 cities covered under NCAP, 40 cities have shown a reduction in PM 2.5 levels in 2024 as compared to 2019; 56 cities have met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM (annual standard: 40 μg/m³) in 2024. 2.5 (c): National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the nine Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims at protecting, restoring, and enhancing India’s forest cover and responding to Climate Change by undertaking eco-restoration/plantation activities in the forest and non-forest areas. GIM activities were started in the FY 2015-16. So far, a sum of Rs. 1019.27 crores have been sanctioned/allocated/released to seventeen States and one union territory for creation of plantation/eco-restoration over an area of 1,71,345 ha. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 and its Rules, 2018 aim toward mitigating the loss of forest cover and associated ecosystem services resulting from the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. This is achieved through activities such as compensatory afforestation, restoration of degraded forests, enhancement of wildlife habitats, and biodiversity enrichment. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds are used for undertaking various activities for the betterment of forest related to improvement and enrichment of forests, wildlife and ecological services which include artificial regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related infrastructure development, Green India Programme, wildlife protection and other ancillary activities related to forest and wildlife management. States/UT CAMPA Authorities submit Annual Plan of Operations (APOs) every year for approval to National CAMPA. During the year FY 2022-23 to 2024-25, Compensatory Afforestation (CA) has been carried out in the area of 84,067.88 Ha. The survival rate of afforestation activities is assessed by the respective State and UT Forest Departments. (d): The Government of India stands committed to combat climate change and has taken several measures to meet India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) first submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Paris Agreement in 2015 and subsequently updated in 2022. These measures include various policies, schemes and programmes launched from time to time, to scale up India’s action on both, the adaptation and mitigation fronts. Appropriate measures are being taken for promotion of clean energy, especially renewable energy, enhancement of energy efficiency, development of less carbon intensive and resilient urban centres, promotion of waste to wealth, safe, smart, and sustainable green transportation network, creating carbon sink through enhanced forest and tree cover, and strengthening climate resilience in agriculture, water resources, coastal regions, health, and disaster management. India’s climate action also captures citizens’ contributions including those through the activities under ‘Mission LiFE’ (Lifestyle for the Environment) and initiatives like ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Nam.’ The Government is implementing National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which is the overarching framework for climate actions. The NAPCC comprises of nine national missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan Ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India, human health, and strategic knowledge on climate change. The Government is also supporting States and Union Territories (UTs) for preparation of their respective State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), in line with the strategy outlined in the NAPCC. To support the objectives of NAPCC, 34 States and UTs have prepared their SAPCCs to address State specific actions.As a result, emission intensity of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced by 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020. India has reached a major milestone in its energy transition by achieving the NDC goal of 50% of its installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources; five years ahead of the committed timeline of 2030. As compared to the base year of 2005, India has already reached 2.29 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink as against the target of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes by 2030. India’s climate action is mainly financed by budgetary allocations of the respective Ministries/ Departments that have institutionalized the respective nine Missions of the National Action plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Multilateral funds like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF) are also explored for financing climate action within the country. So far, sixteen (16) projects/ programmes have been approved to India by the GCF with a total allocation of USD 1.1 billion to mitigate and adapt to climate change in sectors including water, clean energy, coastal, livelihood, transport, medium and small enterprises and climate start-ups. The country has accessed resources from the Adaptation Fund. The projects amounted to a total of USD 16.86 million for sectors covering food security, forests, agriculture, water management, and coastal management.