Lok Sabha Question No. 679 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-20
Subject: National Clear Air Programme
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: BHARATENDRA SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION N0. 679

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2018

## National Clear Air Programme

## 679. KUNWAR BHARATENDRA:

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

- (a) whether the Expenditure Finance Plan for the National Clear Air Programme has received approval from the Ministry of Finance;
- (b)   if so, the details thereof and if not, the proposed timeline for approval and finalisation of the same;
- (c)   whether any measures have been taken in the interim for the prevention and control of air pollution in various cities of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  developed  any  action  plan  for  the  reduction  of  emissions from transport fuels and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has studied the potential substitution of harmful aromatics in transport fuels and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) & (b) The National Clean Air Programme is a part of larger Central Sector 'Pollution Abatement' Scheme.The draft Memorandum for Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for the  Scheme  has  been  circulated  to  concerned  Ministries  including  Ministry  of  Finance seeking comments. The approval has not been received as yet and is subject to appraisal by competent authority.

(c) The Government has taken several measuresfor prevention and control of air pollution in various cities of the country which inter alia, include notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality; introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.), ethanol blending, launching  of  National  Air  Quality  index;  universalization  of  BS-IV  by  2017;  leapfrogging from  BS-IV  to  BS-VI  fuel  standards  by  1 st April,  2020;  notification  of  Construction  and Demolition Waste Management Rules; banning of burning of biomass; promotion of public transport network; streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate; 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;notification of graded response action plan for Delhi and NCR etc.

(d) The task force for 'Clean Fuels for Transportation' has recommended action plans which inter alia include; preponing the introduction of BS-VI compliant fuels in Delhi and NCR, setting  up  for  Hydrogen  and  Compressed  Natural  Gas  (HCNG)  demonstration  project, achieving  10%  ethanol  blending  in  transport  fuels,  nationally,  by  2022,  formulation  of strategy  for  promoting  LNG  as  transportation  fuel,  prioritizing  implementation  of  Vapour Recovery Systems in Delhi etc.

(e) The Automotive fuel and lubricant division of CSIR- Indian Institute of Petroleum has focused  on  investigating  the  effect  of  gasoline  fuel  composition  and  other  properties  on exhaust  emissions  through  various  studies.  The  aromatics  content  &  Benzene  Content  in petrol and Diesel has been progressively reduced and is depicted in the Annexure.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  AS  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  PART  (e)  TO  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 679 DUE FOR ANSWER  ON 20.07.2018 REGARDING "NATIONAL CLEAR AIR PROGRAMME" RAISED BY SHRIKUNWAR BHARATENDRA, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Aromatics content & Benzene Content in petrol and Diesel

Petrol :

|   Year | Supply of Auto Fuel Grade   | Aromatics Content   | Benzene Content   |
|--------|-----------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|   2000 | BS-2000 Nation-wide         | No Limit            | 5%                |
|   2005 | BS-II Nation -wide          | No Limit            | 3%                |
|   2010 | BS-III Nation -wide         | 42%                 | 1%                |
|   2017 | BS-IV Nation -wide          | 35%                 | 1%                |

Diesel:

|   Year | Supply of Auto Fuel Grade   | Poly -Aromatics Hydrocarbon (PAH) Content   |
|--------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|   2000 | BS-2000 Nation-wide         | No Limit                                    |
|   2005 | BS-II Nation -wide          | No Limit                                    |
|   2010 | BS-III Nation -wide         | 11%                                         |
|   2017 | BS-IV Nation -wide          | 11%                                         |
|   2020 | BS-VI Nation -wide          | 8%                                          |