67% funds under clean air plan used for clearing dust

NEARLY six years after the launch of India's clean air programme, data and analyses show misplaced priority and non-transparency in the programme.

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @ New Delhi

NEARLY six years after the launch of India's clean air programme, data and analyses show misplaced priority and non-transparency in the programme. Only 25% of all targeted cities have so far analysed their source of polluted particulate matters, resulting in most funds being spent on dust management instead of blocking sources of the more dangerous PM 2.5 and PM 10.

India launched its National Clean Air Program (NCAP) in 2019 with a target to reduce up to 30% of pollution levels in different cities. For this, a city needs to complete source apportionment (SA) studies to identify sources of air pollution and their contribution to pollution levels.