National Clean Air Programme

India is dedicated to maintaining a clean environment with unpolluted air and water. In actuality, our constitution requires it. India's commitments and obligations to environmental preservation and protection within the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are demonstrated by the fact that numerous administrative and regulatory measures, including a separate statute on air and water pollution, are in place and being enforced. 

 

In accordance with Article 253 of the Constitution, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 was passed to put into effect the decisions made at the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, which India attended and was held in Stockholm in June 1972. India's development philosophy includes sustainable development as a key component of improving human well-being.

 

To accomplish its many other important obligations related to eradicating poverty and hunger under the SDGs, India has great obstacles given its vast size and developing economy, as well as its growing population and pervasive poverty. For the past thirty years, India has been going through a phase of rapid industrial activity. Industrialization and urbanization-related expansion have greatly increased pollution problems, particularly air pollution problems.

 

Medium and small towns and cities have also seen an increase in pollution recently, which has quickly been reflected in India's non-attainment cities. Specifically for human health, air pollution has grown to be a major source of worry. The stated confusing numbers that link air pollution to numerous aggravating health statistics without any support from data on the Indian population further exacerbate the problems by swaying public opinion.

 

Power, transportation, manufacturing, residential building, and agriculture are just a few of the industries that have air pollution emission problems. The effects of air pollution extend beyond health to include agriculture and the overall welfare of the human, floral, and animal populations. Additionally, as air pollution is a global issue, its effects are seen in towns and cities that are far from the source resulting in the requirement for multi-sectorial synchronization as well as inter-state and inert-city cooperation. 

 

While studies reveal that the regional scale pollution is more concentrated throughout the entire Indo-Gangetic plains of India and more industrialized states, the problem of air pollution is primarily urban focused. Recent episodes of episodic air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have received a lot of media attention, putting the entire subject of air pollution under constant public scrutiny. The government has taken a number of substantial actions to address the problem, including:

 

•    Establishing a monitoring network to gauge ambient air quality 

 

•    Introducing cleaner gaseous fuels like CNG, LPG, etc.; and blending ethanol

 

•    Notifying national ambient air quality requirements and industry sector-specific emission and effluent criteria

 

•    National Air Quality Index (AQI) debut

 

•    The implementation of BS-IV for all vehicles by 2017, the transition to BS-VI for all vehicles by the first day of April 2020, 

 

•    the prohibition of biomass burning, 

 

•    the issuance of directions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981

 

•    Notification of a graded response action plan for Delhi and the National Capital Region that details source-specific responses to different air pollution levels, etc.

 

With these recent legislative changes, it is claimed that the air quality has slightly improved in a few big cities recently, albeit this improvement is not yet considered to be a pattern. This is insufficient, and more intense, time-bound efforts in both urban and rural areas now seem necessary to address the problem fully at the national level. In light of this, a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)-for India is deemed to be necessary as national level measures for reducing air pollution levels at both the regional and urban stages.

 

The primary goal of NCAP is to achieve the required yearly average ambient air quality standards across the nation in a predetermined amount of time. The NCAP proposes a tentative national level aim of a 20%–30% decrease in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, using 2017 as the base year for concentration comparisons.

 

•    To expand and advance the nation's efficient and effective ambient air quality monitoring network in order to ensure a complete and trustworthy database

 

•    In order to have effective data distribution and public outreach mechanisms for timely air pollution: Preventive and mitigation actions and for inclusive public engagement in both planning and implementing the government's air pollution programs and policies and Should have a workable management plan for stopping, reducing, and controlling air pollution.

 

•    Collaborative, multiscale, and cross-sectoral coordination between the pertinent state governments, local organizations, and central ministries.

 

•    Put your attention on regret-free practices and a disciplined attitude.

 

•    The first year of the NCAP, 2019, will be a mid-term, five-year action plan.

 

•    131 cities are being targeted by NCAP for air quality improvement. Out of these 131 cities, 123 cities (NACs) are recognized by NCAP as not meeting national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) five years in a row. Additionally, the 15th Finance Commission's (XV-FC) list of million plus cities (MPCs) that are eligible to receive performance-based grants for the improvement of air quality also includes MPCs. 

 

•    34 cities out of the 42 MPCs fall under NCAP. In order to improve air quality, 131 cities (NACs and MPCs) are being monitored by the NCAP expanding the network for monitoring air quality: The national network for monitoring air quality must be reviewed, historical data must be analyzed to rationalize monitored parameters, and monitoring needs must be reevaluated in order to expand the network and adopt the best blending of techniques, including manual, continuous, sensor-based, and satellite-based techniques.

 

•    100 Non-Attainment Cities Air Quality Management Plan: (i) The city action plans need to be based on a thorough scientific approach that includes identifying emission sources, (ii) determining the extent of these sources' contributions, (iii) prioritizing the sources that need to be addressed, (iv) assessing the feasibility and economic viability of various options for controlling the sources, and (v) formulating action plans.

 

The list of 131 cities chosen for this intervention is as follows:

 

Non-Attainment cities with respect to Ambient Air Quality India (2011-2015) and WHO report 2014/2018

 

1. Andhra Pradesh    - Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Anantapur, Chitoor, Eluru, Kadapa, Ongole, Rajahmundry, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram

 

2. Assam - Guwahati, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sibsagar, Silchar

 

3. Bihar - Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur

 

4. Chandigarh - Chandigarh

 

5. Chattisgarh - Bhilai, Korba, Raipur

 

6. Delhi - Delhi

 

7. Gujarat - Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot

 

8. Haryana -    Faridabad

 

9. Himachal Pradesh - Baddi, Damtal, Kala Amb, Nalagarh, Paonta Sahib, Parwanoo, Sunder Nagar

 

10. Jammu & Kashmir - Jammu, Srinagar

 

11. Jharkhand - Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi

 

12. Karnataka - Bangalore, Devanagere, Gulburga, Hubli-Dharwad

 

13. Madhya Pradesh - Bhopal, Dewas, Indore, Sagar, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur

 

14. Maharashtra - Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Badlapur, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Vasai-Virar

 

15. Meghalaya - Byrnihat

 

16. Nagaland - Dimapur, Kohima

 

17. Odisha - Angul, Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Talcher, Kalinga Nagar

 

18. Punjab -    Dera Bassi, Gobindgarh, Jalandhar, Khanna, Ludhiana, Naya Nangal, Pathankot/Dera Baba, Patiala, Amritsar

 

19. Rajasthan - Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur

 

20. Tamilnadu - Thoothukudi, Trichy, Madurai, Chennai

 

21. Telangana - Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Patancheruvu, Sangareddy

 

22. Uttar Pradesh - Agra, Allahabad, Anpara, Bareily, Firozabad, Gajraula, Ghaziabad, Jhansi, Kanpur, Khurja, Lucknow, Moradabad, Noida, Raebareli, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Meerut

 

23. Uttarakhand - Kashipur, Rishikesh, Dehradun

 

24. West Bengal - Kolkata, Asansol, Barrackpore, Durgapur, Haldia, Howrah

 

•    Monitoring and management of indoor air pollution which refers to the air's physical, chemical, and biological properties inside a structure, house, institution, or commercial space

 

•    Health Effects of Air Pollution Studies

 

•    Establishing a certification mechanism for monitoring sensors at the Air Information Centre

 

•    A system for predicting air quality

 

•    Long Plantation Drive

 

•    Issuance of a Dust Management Notification (Road dust and C&D)

 

•    Drive for Intensified Awareness, Training, and Capacity Building

 

•    Review of monitoring, assessment, and implementation inspection in a three-tiered method

 

•    Inventories of National Emissions: An assessment of the quantity of pollutants released into the atmosphere is called an emission inventory. An emission inventory typically includes the total emissions for one or more particular air pollutants from all source types over a certain geographic area and over a given time period, typically a single year. 

 

Every issue with environmental contamination begins with emissions and releases into the environment.

•    Technical Institutions Network: Knowledge Partners to provide comprehensive services for the formulation and administration of Government of India policies and programs on air pollution, a network of highly skilled and experienced academicians, academic administrators, and technological institutes in the area of air pollution would be formed.

 

•    Technology Assessment Cell: The Technology Assessment Cell is planned to assess the technologies important in relation to pollution prevention, control, and abatement. The unit is anticipated to concentrate on both domestic and foreign monitoring and mitigation technologies. In accordance with a number of bilateral and international agreements, it is also anticipated to contribute to technology evaluation and the development of technology transfer mechanisms.

 

•    International collaboration, including the exchange of best air pollution practices

•    All non-attainment cities should be included in source apportionment studies: Finding the sources and the quantity of their contribution is made easier with the aid of source apportionment studies, which are mostly based on measurements and tracking down the sources through receptor modelling. It is intended to expand source apportionment investigations, which have already been started in six major cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, and Kanpur—to all 94 non-attainments.

 

•    Review of emission and ambient air quality standards

 

•    Institutional Setting: In order to successfully execute pollution, specifically air pollution related intervention methods, an effective institutional framework, which essentially relates to formal organizational structures, needs to be taken into consideration.

 

A portal for monitoring the National Clean Air Program's implementation is called "PRANA" - Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment Cities (NCAP). It will assist in tracking the physical and financial status of the city's implementation of the air action plan and inform the public about the NCAP's air quality control initiatives.