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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5757
TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026
Utilisation of Funds under NCAP, 2026
5757. SHRI KRISHNA PRASAD TENNETI:
SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:
SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:
SHRI PRADEEP PUROHIT:
SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:
SMT. KAMLESH JANGDE:
SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:
SMT. APARAJITA SARANGI:
SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:
SHRI BIBHU PRASAD TARAI:
SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:
SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH CHOUDHARY:
DR. MANNA LAL RAWAT:
SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:
SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM:
SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:
SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is on track to meet the revised 40 per cent PM10 reduction target by
the end of 2026 and if not, the reasons for the delay and the steps being taken to mitigate the same;
(b) the manner in which expansion of the monitoring network to 1600 stations improved the
accuracy of air quality data;
(c) the details of specific progress made in conducting source apportionment studies for the
remaining 40 non-attainment cities;
(d) whether the Government has successfully utilised the Rs.13,415 crore that were released under
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the 15th Finance Commission and if so, the details
thereof; and
(e) whether the Airshed Approach has been successfully implemented to address regional pollution
clusters in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and if so, the details of result achieved so far?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE
CHANGE
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)(a) to (e): To address air pollution in the country, the Government of India has launched the
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 as a long-term, time-bound, national-level
strategy to improve air quality in 130 cities (non-attainment cities and Million Plus Cities) in 24
States/UTs by engaging all stakeholders.
City Specific Clean Air Action Plans prepared by 130 cities under NCAP are implemented to
reduce air pollution sources like soil & road dust, vehicular emissions, construction & demolition
activities, waste burning and industrial pollution, etc.
Out of the amount of Rs.13,415 crore (released as on November, 2025) provided to 130 cities
under 15th Finance Commission’s Million Plus City Challenge Fund (MPCCF) and Control of
Pollution Scheme of MoEF&CC, cities have reported the utilization of Rs. 10,611.52 crore.
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, 64 cities have shown
reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20% with respect to base year 2017-18 and 25 of these
cities have achieved a reduction of more than 40%. A total of 22 Cities have met NAAQS and
have PM10 Concentrations less than 60 µg/m3.
CPCB has issued guidelines for establishing Ambient Air Quality Monitoring stations namely,
“Guidelines for the Measurement of Ambient Air Pollutants (Volume-I: Guidelines for Manual
Sampling & Analyses, and Volume-II: Guidelines for Real Time Sampling & Analyses)”. Further,
CPCB has also issued “Technical Handbook for Installation, Maintenance, Calibration, Data
Connectivity and Data Quality check of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System
(Real Time)”.
The Hand Book provides for conducting Annual Audit of CAAQMs by third party who should
have accreditation of ISO 17025 and having expertise in the O&M of CAAQM System to ensure
the proper functioning of the system in respect of operation of analysers, their maintenance &
calibration, data quality, operator skills, etc.
Concerned State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees install monitoring
stations to collect ambient air quality, in line with the criteria issued by the Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) and these are run, operated and maintained by the respective agencies as
per the aforementioned framework.
Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations are equipped with state of art reference-grade systems,
delivering continuous and near real-time data. These monitoring systems provide accurate,
traceable, and reliable data, which is essential for compliance assessment under the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
Central Pollution Control Board issued “Conceptual Guidelines and Common Methodology for
Air Quality Monitoring, Emission Inventory (EI) & Source Apportionment (SA) Studies for Indian
Cities.” SPCBs/PCCs take up Source Apportionment Studies through various academic/ research
institutes for respective cities under NCAP in line with the CPCB guidelines to identify various
factors contributing to air pollution and prioritise the air quality improvement measures under city
action plans. Source Apportionment (SA) studies have been carried out in 90 cities of NCAP and
remaining 40 cities have initiated the studies and are at various stages.With a view to abate and control air pollution in Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality
Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has adopted an air-shed-based approach to
implement the air pollution control measures through coordinated actions of various agencies of
Central, State and local Governments. Accordingly, all states under Delhi NCR have prepared
Short-term and long-term action plan under the coordination of CAQM, for prevention and
mitigation of air pollution in Delhi NCR.
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