MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) to (c) : Delhi and cities in Indo Gangetic Plains face the problem of poor air quality particularly during winter months due to local and regional emissions coupled with its unique geography and adverse meteorological conditions. Central Government has taken a number of measures for abating air pollution as a result of which there is an overall improvement in air quality of Delhi in 2019. As per Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) data, the number of ‘Good’, ‘Satisfactory’, and ‘Moderate’ days has increased to 182 in 2019 as compared to 159 in 2018, 152 in 2017 and 108 in 2016. Delhi has witnessed a reduction of PM 2.5 and PM10 levels by 19.3% and 25.1% respectively over a period from 2016 to 2019.
Further, the government is aware that several private institutions, Non-Governmental Organization and universities are ranking cities for their pollution levels adopting different methodologies, data set and weightages to various parameters. There is however, no established mechanism for ranking the cities in terms of pollution as it requires authentic data and a proper peer review. The data used for ranking is extracted mainly from satellite imageries and other secondary data which is not validated by proper ground truthing.
(d) Under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), three pollutants viz. PM10 (Particulate Matter having an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 µm), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are monitored regularly at 793 locations covering 344 cities/towns in 28 States and 6 Union Territories across the country. Under the NAMP, PM2.5 (Particulate Matter having an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5µm) is being monitored at 274 locations covering 132 cities. The ambient air quality status of 2018 including particulate matter is given at Annexure – I.
As per the revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) the national standard for PM10is 60 µg/m3(annual average) and 100 µg/m3 (24-hourly average) in both residential/industrial/rural and ecologically sensitive area. The National Standard for PM2.5 is 40 µg/m3 (annual average) and 60 µg/m3(24-hourly average) in both residential/industrial/rural and ecologically sensitive area.
(e) Central Government has taken a number of regulatory measures for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution. A Comprehensive Air Plan (CAP) for Delhi and NCR has been developed identifying the timelines and implementing agencies for actions delineated. The Central Government has notified a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi and NCR for different levels of pollution. The nature, scope and rigor of measures to be taken are linked to levels of pollution viz. severe + or emergency, severe, very poor, moderate to poor and moderate, after due consideration by authorities concerned. The details of measures taken by the Government are given at Annexure-II.
Also, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January 2019 to tackle the problem of air pollution in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20 to 30 % reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as base year. The plan includes 102 non-attainment cities, across 23 States and Union Territories, on the basis of their ambient air quality data between 2011 and 2015 which includes Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida of Delhi NCR.
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