See Full Document Text
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. *309
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2026
Independent Performance Evaluation of NCAP
*309. ADV PRIYA SAROJ:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of cities that have consistently exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards during the last three years, State/UT-wise including Uttar Pradesh;
(b) whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of the National Clean Air Programme
(NCAP) in reducing particulate matter concentrations in non-attainment cities, if so, the details
and findings thereof;
(c) the details of funds released and utilised under the NCAP during the last three years, city-
wise;
(d) whether any independent performance evaluation of NCAP has been undertaken, if so, the
details thereof; and
(e) the details of measures taken to strengthen source-based emission control, real-time
monitoring and inter-agency coordination for improving urban air quality?
ANSWER
MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 309 DUE FOR REPLY ON 10.08.2026 REGARDING
INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF NCAP ASKED BY ADV PRIYA
SAROJ
(a) to (e) :To address air pollution in urban areas, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEFCC) launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to improve air quality in
130 non-attainment cities and Million Plus Cities in 24 States/UTs through implementation of
National, State and City level clean air action plans.
Further, to identify various factors contributing to air pollution and prioritise the air quality
improvement measures under city action plans under NCAP, Source Apportionment (SA) studies
have been carried out in 119 cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
All cities under NCAP have prepared City Action Plans (CAPs) for implementing air quality
control measures that involves short-term as well as long-term measures like end-to-end
pavement of road, greenery development, greening of open areas, plans to decongest traffic
corridors, development of urban micro forest including Miyawaki plantation, improvement of
traffic junctions for decongestion, conversion of crematorium towards clean fuels, establishment
of EV Charging Stations. Further, State Action Plans have been prepared that incorporate State-
specific schemes, policies, and targeted measures for air quality improvement.
To ensure inter-agency coordination, various committees have been set up under NCAP at
National, State and City level for coordination, monitoring and evaluation of progress on action
plans by various stakeholder agencies/ Departments/ Ministries.
Further, MoEFCC has constituted a National Coordination Committee to provide overall
guidance and coordination for implementation of the National Action Plan under the National
Clean Air Programme (NCAP) through convergence of schemes and programs of Central
Government and State Government, Urban Local Bodies and other development
authorities/agencies.
To address air pollution in Delhi-NCR, the Government has established the Commission for Air
Quality Management (CAQM) under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and
Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, with statutory powers to take measures and issue directions to the
agencies concerned in the region for protecting and improving air quality. CAQM has so far
issued 101 Statutory Directions and 17 Advisories/executive orders to the Governments of NCR
States/GNCTD and the agencies concerned, and their implementation is rigorously monitored
through periodic progress reviews and follow-up orders and directions.
Air Quality Index (AQI) is disseminated on real-time basis in 292 cities. A centralised air quality
portal and mobile app-SAMEER is functional for tracking and dissemination of near real-time
air quality data and hourly Air Quality Index to the public.For strengthening monitoring mechanism and effective compliance through self-regulatory
mechanism, CPCB directed all 17 categories of highly polluting industries to install Online
Continuous Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS).
Under NCAP, performance-based incentive grant of Rs. 16423.56 crore has been provided to 130
cities during FY 2019-20 till 2025-26 for undertaking measures for the improvement of air
quality. Details of city-wise funds released and utilized under NCAP to 130 cities during FY
2023-24 till 2025-26 are provided in Annexure-I. The focused actions under NCAP have yielded
encouraging results. In 2025-26, 108 cities recorded reductions in PM10 concentrations
compared to 2017-18, with 72 cities achieving reductions of more than 20%, and 26 cities
achieving reductions of more than 40%. 14 cities have met the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards in FY 2025-26, compared to 6 cities in 2017-18.
State/UT wise number of cities under NCAP that have consistently exceeded the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 (60 µg/m3) during the last three years (F.Y. 2023-24 to
2025-26), including cities in Uttar Pradesh are at Annexure - II.
An independent evaluation of Control of Pollution Scheme in which National Clean Air
Programme (NCAP) is also one of the components, has been conducted in December, 2020 and
August, 2025. The latest evaluation report observed that NCAP aims for sustained air-quality
management through infrastructure, local action plans, and institutional mechanisms. The
program has demonstrated measurable progress in strengthening India’s air-quality management
framework and improving ambient air quality across several non-attainment cities.
****Annexure-I
Details of release and utilisation of funds in 130 cities under NCAP during FY 2023-24 till
FY 2025-26
(Rs. in crore)
Fund Fund
Sl No. State City
released utilised**
1 Anantapur 10.17 10.36
2 Chitoor 4.59 5.17
3 Eluru 2.39 4.93
4 Guntur 14.50 19.43
5 Kadapa 11.11 10.31
6 Kurnool 10.53 12.08
7 Andhra Pradesh Nellore 22.64 27.95
8 Ongole 7.91 9.83
9 Rajahmundry 4.73 7.81
10 Srikakulam 3.31 2.76
11 Vizianagaram 4.09 5.65
12 Vijayawada UA 63.65 79.83
13 Vishakhapatnam UA 82.72 71.84
14 Guwahati 82.67 45.38
15 Nagaon 16.86 8.60
16 Assam Nalbari 10.15 6.86
17 Sibsagar 10.50 4.54
18 Silchar 15.02 9.83
19 Gaya 25.93 8.25
20 Bihar Muzaffarpur 23.89 10.38
21 Patna UA 30.39 161.85
22 Chandigarh Chandigarh 22.00 18.76
23 Korba 7.47 6.16
24 Chhattisgarh Durg Bhilainagar UA 46.50 104.88
25 Raipur UA 54.22 70.82
26 Delhi Delhi 47.61 19.45
27 Ahmedabad UA 384.26 462.59
28 Rajkot UA 75.19 101.94
Gujarat
29 Surat UA 192.60 127.25
30 Vadodara UA 86.33 67.67
31 Haryana Faridabad UA 65.44 61.71
**Utilisation of funds includes utilization of funds released in the previous financial years.Fund Fund
Sl No. State City
released utilised**
32 Baddi 1.72 1.46
33 Damtal 1.56 0.97
34 Kala Amb 1.73 1.18
35 Himachal Pradesh Nalagarh 1.14 1.26
36 Paonta Sahib 1.92 1.39
37 Parwanoo 1.56 0.90
38 Sunder Nagar 1.79 1.31
39 Jammu 57.08 32.62
Jammu & Kashmir
40 Srinagar 113.16 70.65
41 Dhanbad UA 147.06 19.94
42 Jharkhand Jamshedpur UA 0.00* 23.03
43 Ranchi UA 68.62 39.95
44 Devanagere 9.57 11.54
45 Gulburga 28.83 17.35
Karnataka
46 Hubli-Dharwad 17.52 15.69
47 Bruhat Bangalore UA 0.00* 301.64
48 Dewas 18.06 7.48
49 Sagar 19.60 16.53
50 Ujjain 32.97 12.19
51 Madhya Pradesh Bhopal UA 102.80 11.37
52 Gwalior UA 35.15 39.86
53 Indore UA 120.64 57.30
54 Jabalpur UA 105.56 83.64
55 Akola 9.78 10.31
56 Amravati 32.88 33.91
57 Chandrapur 14.04 7.87
58 Jalgaon 5.08 6.16
59 Jalna 5.76 8.45
60 Kolhapur 20.15 23.53
61 Maharashtra Latur 20.88 19.84
62 Sangli 6.13 8.55
63 Solapur 40.06 45.52
64 Aurangabad UA 35.90 29.15
Greater Mumbai UA,
65, 66, 67, 68, 69 Navi Mumbai, Thane, 657.32 266.73
Ulhasnagar, Badlapur
**Utilisation of funds includes utilization of funds released in the previous financial years.Fund Fund
Sl No. State City
released utilised**
70 Nagpur UA 72.71 73.38
71 Nashik UA 40.88 74.11
Maharashtra
72 Pune UA 147.15 229.69
73 Vasai-Virar City UA 30.12 59.37
74 Meghalaya Byrnihat 9.64 5.19
75 Dimapur 9.21 8.20
Nagaland
76 Kohima 10.92 9.89
77 Angul 2.47 0.72
78 Balasore 6.71 3.31
79 Bhubaneswar 30.11 18.29
80 Odisha Cuttack 23.47 17.58
81 Kalinga Nagar 3.24 4.54
82 Rourkela 27.32 19.16
83 Talcher 2.29 2.23
84 Dera Bassi 1.25 0.66
85 Gobindgarh 3.32 4.40
86 Jalandhar 74.99 42.38
87 Khanna 6.22 4.91
88 Naya Nangal 4.34 2.49
Punjab
Pathankot/Dera Baba
89 9.69 4.27
Nanak
90 Patiala 28.90 20.94
91 Amritsar UA 57.64 87.90
92 Ludhiana UA 43.98 56.36
93 Alwar 23.57 23.04
94 Udaipur 18.16 15.21
95 Rajasthan Jaipur UA 92.35 190.68
96 Jodhpur UA 104.52 78.09
97 Kota UA 61.60 43.57
98 Tuticorn/Thoothukudi 12.02 13.85
99 Chennai UA 226.23 21.73
100 Tamil Nadu Madurai UA 32.95 46.14
101 Trichy UA 39.27 59.24
102 Nalgonda 5.73 5.19
103 Telangana Sangareddy 2.03 1.76
104 Hyderabad (HY) UA 272.40 190.30
**Utilisation of funds includes utilization of funds released in the previous financial years.Fund Fund
Sl No. State City
released utilised**
105 Anpara 1.41 1.47
106 Bareily 140.24 93.91
107 Firozabad 81.61 75.33
108 Gajraula 5.21 5.52
109 Gorakhpur 112.80 86.37
110 Jhansi 32.70 23.97
111 Khurja 24.52 15.55
112 Moradabad 141.15 142.23
113 Uttar Pradesh Noida 62.29 34.32
114 Raebareli 21.59 17.42
115 Agra UA 203.96 198.31
116 Allahabad UA 119.90 134.70
117 Ghaziabad UA 139.33 181.79
118 Kanpur UA 328.54 252.35
119 Lucknow UA 104.24 254.34
120 Meerut UA 48.80 137.21
121 Varanasi UA 198.22 291.11
122 Dehradun 64.81 72.86
123 Uttarakhand Kashipur 7.70 7.51
124 Rishikesh 9.21 8.53
125 Durgapur 63.19 41.85
126 Haldia 8.62 5.64
127 Asansol UA 27.20 26.65
West Bengal
128 Kolkata (K) UA
129 Howrah (K) UA 457.55 480.46
130 Barrackpore (K) UA
Total 7117.59 6822.31
** Utilisation of funds includes utilization of funds released in the previous financial years.Annexure-II
State/UT wise number of cities under NCAP that have exceeded the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for PM (60 µg/m3) during FY 2023-24, FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26
10
S.No. State/UT No. of Cities
1. Andhra Pradesh 8
2. Assam 3
3. Bihar 3
4. Chandigarh 1
5. Chhattisgarh 2
6. Delhi 1
7. Gujarat 4
8. Haryana 1
9. Himachal Pradesh 4
10. Jammu & Kashmir 2
11. Jharkhand 3
12. Karnataka 2
13. Madhya Pradesh 7
14. Maharashtra 19
15. Meghalaya 1
16. Nagaland 1
17. Odisha 7
18. Punjab 7
19. Rajasthan 5
20. Telangana 2
21. Uttar Pradesh 16
22. Uttarakhand 3
23. West Bengal 6