Lok Sabha Question No. 1142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-22
Subject: Air Pollution
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: LALUBHAI BABUBHAI PATEL, P.K.SREEMATHI TEACHER, George Baker, Richard Hay, SURESH KODIKUNNIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1142

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.11.2016

## Air Pollution

1142.   SHRI LALUBHAI BABUBHAI PATEL:

SHRIMATI P.K. SREEMATHI TEACHER:

SHRI GEORGE BAKER:

PROF. RICHARD HAY:

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether the level of air pollution in the country has been rising rapidly and the quality of ambient  air  has  become  unsafe  for  breathing  in  several  metropolitan  cities  especially after Diwali;
- (b)   if so, the status thereof along with the major causes of air pollution;
- (c) the concrete measures taken by the Government to regulate air pollution and the outcome of the said efforts;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  received  any  proposal  from  various  States  as  well  as foreign countries/agencies to combat air pollution; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

(a) & (b) The air pollution in some cities in the country has been reported high with respect to Particulate  Matter  (PM10  &  PM2.5)  especially  after  Deepawali.  The  status  in  respect  of  30 cities with respect to air quality index for the period between November, 2015 to October, 2016  is  enclosed  as  Annexure.    The  increase  in  pollution  occurs  due  to  meteorological conditions  like  low  temperature,  wind  speed  and  mixing  height  in  addition  to  the  major contributing factors like road dust, vehicular emissions, construction and demolition activities,  gensets,  industrial  emissions,  garbage  burning,  stubble  burning,  hot  mix  plants, brick kilns etc.

(c) The major steps taken by Government to regulate air pollution in the country inter alia include notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; formulation of environmental  regulations  /  statutes;  setting  up  of  monitoring  network  for  assessment  of ambient  air  quality;  introduction  of  cleaner  /  alternate  fuels  like  gaseous  fuel  (CNG,  LPG etc.), ethanol blending; promotion of cleaner production processes; launching of National Air

Quality index; universalization of BS-IV by 2017; leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards  by  1st  April,  2020;  comprehensive  amendments  to  various  Waste  Management Rules and notification of Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules; banning of burning of leaves, biomass, municipal solid waste; promotion of public transport and network of  metro,  e-rickshaws,  promotion  of  carpooling,  Pollution  Under  Control  Certificate,  lane discipline,  vehicle  maintenance;  regular  co-ordination  meetings  at  official  and  ministerial level with Delhi and other State Governments within the NCR; issuance of directions under Section 18(1)(b) of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and under Section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; installation of on-line continuous (24x7) monitoring devices  by  major  industries;  collection  of  Environmental  Protection  Charge  on  more  than 2000 CC diesel vehicles; and ban on bursting of sound emitting crackers between 10 PM to 6 AM etc.

(d) & (e) Proposals are received by the Central Government from the State Governments to fund pollution control/monitoring activities.  Under the various schemes of Government of India  assistance  is  given  to  State  Governments/Bodies/  Central  Pollution  Control  Board (CPCB).    CPCB  has  been  releasing  funds  to  State/UTs  under  the  National  Air  Quality Monitoring  Programme  from  time  to  time.    This  Ministry  also  releases  funds  under  the scheme  viz.  Assistance  for  Abatement  of  Pollution  and  development/promotion  of  Clean Technology and waste minimization strategies to control pollution.  Further, discussions on combating  air pollution have  also been  held with officials of World  Bank,  Global Environmental Facility and United States of America.

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ANNEXURE ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARA  (a)  &  (b)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1142 DUE FOR REPLY ON 22.11.2016 REGARDING 'AIR POLLUTION'  BY  SHRI  LALUBHAI  BABUBHAI  PATEL:  SHRIMATI  P.K.  SREEMATHI TEACHER:  SHRI  GEORGE  BAKER:  PROF.  RICHARD  HAY:  SHRI  KODIKUNNIL SURESH, HON'BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

The average AQI values in major cities (November, 2015 to October, 2016)

|   Sr. No. | Cities        |   AVERAGE AQI |
|-----------|---------------|---------------|
|         1 | Delhi         |           246 |
|         2 | Faridabad     |           226 |
|         3 | Varanasi      |           223 |
|         4 | Lucknow       |           221 |
|         5 | Jaipur        |           216 |
|         6 | Kanpur        |           215 |
|         7 | Patna         |           208 |
|         8 | Muzzaffarpur  |           200 |
|         9 | Agra          |           199 |
|        10 | Jodhpur       |           189 |
|        11 | Gurgaon       |           176 |
|        12 | Gaya          |           149 |
|        13 | Pune          |           144 |
|        14 | Solapur       |           119 |
|        15 | Chandrapur    |           113 |
|        16 | Chennai       |           111 |
|        17 | Aurangabad    |            99 |
|        18 | Navi Mumbai   |            95 |
|        19 | Ahmedabad     |            92 |
|        20 | Mumbai        |            89 |
|        21 | Vishakapatnam |            89 |
|        22 | Bengaluru     |            87 |
|        23 | Hyderabad     |            86 |
|        24 | Panchkula     |            86 |
|        25 | Nagpur        |            85 |
|        26 | Thane         |            73 |
|        27 | Haldia        |            72 |
|        28 | Tirupati      |            71 |
|        29 | Rohtak        |            69 |
|        30 | Howrah        |            66 |