Lok Sabha Question No. 3245 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-12
Subject: Air Pollution
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gautam Gambhir, Jagdambika Pal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0. 3245

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.07.2019

## Air Pollution

## 3245.   SHRI GAUTAM GAMBHIR: SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that various surveys put 14 cities from India in the list of top 20 most polluted cities in the world and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has held a meeting with the stakeholders to discuss measures to control the rising levels of air pollution;
- (c) if so, the details thereof indicating the names of States/officials which participated therein along with the issues discussed and response of the State Government thereon;
- (d)  the  details  of  meetings  held  in  past  three  years  to  control  pollution  in  Delhi/  National Capital Region along with its reports and outcome thereof; and
- (e)  the  details  of  policy  measures  and  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  control  rising pollution along with the estimated time taken for implementation of such policy measures?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

- (a) The ambient air quality data for metropolitan cities / million plus urban agglomerations during 2016- 2018 is given in Annexure .  Analysis of data revealed that SO2 levels were within the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in all  50  cities  during  2016-18.  With  respect  to  NO2,  17  cities  showed  an  increasing trend,  16  cities  showed  a  decreasing  concentration,  16  cities  showed  a  fluctuating trend and 1 city revealed steady concentration. With respect to PM10, 14 cities showed an increasing trend, 14 cities showed a decreasing concentration, 22 cities showed a fluctuating trend. With respect to PM2.5, trends are available for 17 cities and out of 17  cities,  08  cities  showed  an  increasing  trend,  04  cities  showed  a  decreasing concentration, 05 cities showed a fluctuating trend.
- (b) to  (d)  For  prevention,  control  and  abatement  of  air  pollution  in  Delhi  and  NCR, meetings have been held under the Chairmanship of Minister,  Environment, Forest and  Climate  Change  attended  by  Environment  Ministers  of  Delhi  and  NCR  States.

Also, High Level Task Force (HLTF) has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary to Prime Minister for management of air pollution in Delhi and NCR.Secretary,  MoEF&CC  has  also  held  regular  meetings  with  the  concerned officers of the neighbouring States to address this issue.

- (e) The Central Government has taken a number of regulatory measures for   prevention, control and abatement of air pollution in the country. These include-

## Action Plans for Improvement of Air Quality in Delhi NCR:

- (i) Graded  Response  Action  Plan  (GRAP)  was  notified  on  January  12,  2017,  for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution in Delhi and NCR. It identifies graded measures and implementing agencies for response to four AQI categories, namely, Moderate to Poor, Very Poor, Severe and Severe + or Emergency.
- (ii) The  Central  Government  has  notified  a  Comprehensive  Action  Plan  (CAP)  in 2018 identifying timelines and implementing agencies for actions identified for prevention, control and mitigation of air pollution in Delhi and NCR.

## Action Plans for Improvement of Air Quality of Other Cities:

- (i) 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. This is keeping 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration. The overall objective is to augment and evolve  effective  ambient  air  quality  monitoring  network  across  the  country besides  ensuring  comprehensive  management  plan  for  prevention,  control  and abatement of air pollution and enhancing public awareness and capacity building measures.
- (ii) 102 non-attainment cities have been identified based on ambient air quality data for  the  period  2011  -  2015  and  WHO  report  2014/2018.  A  total  of  86  city specific action plans have been approved for ground implementation.

The Central Government has taken several measures for prevention, control and abatementof air pollution across the country. These include-

## Monitoring

-  Setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality. Central Presently, ambient air quality is being monitored at 779 locations covering 339 cities  in  29  states  &  6  Union  Territories  across  the  country  under  National  Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). Further, real time monitoring is taking place at 170 locations in 102 cities in 18 States/UTs.
-  Notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
-  Launch of National Air Quality Index.
-  Implementation of Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi in October, 2018 in association with Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

## Transport

-  Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards since 1st April, 2018 in NCT of Delhi and from by 1st April, 2020 in the rest of the country.
-  Introduction  of  cleaner  /  alternate  fuels  like  gaseous  fuel  (CNG,  LPG  etc.), ethanol blending.
-  Promotion of public transport and improvements in roads and building of more bridges to ease congestion on roads.
-  Operationalisation  of  Eastern  Peripheral  Expressway  &  Western  Peripheral Expressway to divert non-destined traffic from Delhi.
-  Streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate.
-  Environment  Protection  Charges  (EPC)  have  been  imposed  on  diesel  vehicles with engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi NCR.

## Industry

-  Badarpur thermal power plant has been closed from 15th October, 2018.
-  Notification of stricter emission norms for power plants.
-  All brick kilns have been shifted to zig-zag technology in Delhi and NCR.
-  Installation  of  on-line  continuous  (24x7)  monitoring  devices  all  red  category industries in Delhi and NCR.
-  Revision of emission standards for industrial sectors from time to time.
-  Ban  on  pet  coke  and  furnace  oil  -  monitoring  of  use  of    pet  coke  in  Lime Kilns/Cement Kilns and Calcium Carbide Industry in Delhi and NCR States.

## Biomass and Solid Waste

-  A new Central Sector Scheme on 'Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ  management  of  Crop  Residue  in  the  States  of  Punjab,  Haryana,  Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi' for the period from 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been launched.
-  Banning of burning of biomass/garbage.
-  3 Waste-to-Energy (W-t-E) plants are currently operational in Delhi with atotal capacity of 5100 Tonnes Per Day (TPD).
-  Notifications of 6 waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, ewaste, bio-medical waste, C&D waste and hazardous wastes issued in 2016.

## Dust

-  Notifications regarding dust mitigation measures for construction and demolition activities.
-  Number of mechanised road sweeping machines has been increased significantly and presently 60 machines are deployed for cleaning of roads in Delhi.

## Public Outreach

-  Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana,  Rajasthan  and  Delhi  Governments  launched  Clean  Air  for  Delhi Campaign from 10th - 23rd Feb 2018 and to check air polluting activities pre and post Diwali, a special campaign called 'Clean Air Campaign' during November 01, 2018 to November 10, 2018.
-  Ministry  is  promoting  peoples  participation  and  awareness  building  among citizens  for  environmental  conservation  through  Green  Goods  Deeds  that  focus on  promotion  of  cycling,  saving  water  and  electricity,  growing  trees,  proper maintenance of vehicles, following of lane discipline and reducing congestion on roads by car pooling etc.
-  Development  of  mechanism  for  redressal  of  public  complaints  regarding  air pollution issues in Delhi and NCR (through 'Sameer App', 'Emails'(aircomplaints.cpcb@gov.in)  and  'Social  Media  Networks'  (Facebook and Twitter)  etc.

As  a  result  of  these  steps  in  Delhi,  the  number  of  'Good',  'Satisfactory',  and 'Moderate' days has increased to 159 in 2018, as compared to 152 in 2017 and 106  in  2016,  and  the  number  of  'Poor',  'Very  Poor'  and  'Severe'  days  has reduced to 206, compared to 213 in 2017 and 246 in 2016. Analysis of Ambient air  quality  data  of  Delhi  monitored  under  Continuous  Ambient  Air  Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS)  during  2016-2018  revealed  that  there is reduction of 7.3 % in PM2.5 levels in 2018 over 2017 and 14.8% over 2016 and reduction of 8.6% in PM10 levels in 2018 over 2017 and 16.5% over 2016.

***

Annexure referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3245 due for reply on 12.07.2019 regarding 'Air Pollution' by Shri Gautam Gambhir& Shri Jagdambika Pal, Hon'ble Members of Lok Sabha

Annexure

## Air quality status of million plus/ urban agglomerations cities for 2016, 2017 and 2018 under NAMP (Manual)

## (Annual average in µg/m 3 )

| Sl. No   | State          | Sl. No   | City               | 2016   | 2016   | 2016   | 2016   | 2017   | 2017   | 2017   | 2017   | 2018   | 2018   | 2018   | 2018   |
|----------|----------------|----------|--------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Sl. No   | State          | Sl. No   | City               | SO 2   | NO 2   | PM 10  | PM 2.5 | SO 2   | NO 2   | PM 10  | PM 2.5 | SO 2   | NO 2   | PM 10  | PM 2.5 |
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh | 1.       | Vijaywada          | 6      | 44     | 102    | -      | 6      | 29     | 99     | -      | 5      | 21     | 77     | 29     |
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh | 2.       | Vishakhapatna m    | 8      | 18     | 77     | -      | 9      | 17     | 73     | -      | 10     | 20     | 77     | 49     |
| 2.       | Bihar          | 3.       | Patna              | 4      | 32     | 212    | -      | 5      | 39     | 156    | -      | 5      | 51     | 207    | -      |
| 3.       | Chandigarh     | 4.       | Chandigarh         | 2      | 21     | 105    | 123    | 2      | 16     | 109    | 64     | 2      | 17     | 102    | 50     |
| 4.       | Chattisgarh    | 5.       | Durg- Bhillainagar | 9      | 23     | 108    | -      | 8      | 21     | 97     | -      | 8      | 19     | 84     | -      |
| 4.       | Chattisgarh    | 6.       | Raipur             | 12     | 31     | 148    |        | 10     | 27     | 103    |        | 14     | 20     | 65     |        |
| 5.       | Delhi          | 7.       | Delhi              | 7      | 66     | 278    | 118    | 7      | 68     | 241    | 106    | 6      | 73     | 223    | 121    |
| 6.       | Gujarat        | 8.       | Ahmedabad          | 14     | 27     | 108    | 34     | 14     | 29     | 120    | 38     | 16     | 29     | 236    | 73     |
| 6.       | Gujarat        | 9.       | Rajkot             | 13     | 21     | 92     | 32     | 16     | 22     | 106    | 37     | 19     | 23     | 203    | 64     |
| 6.       | Gujarat        | 10.      | Surat              | 13     | 22     | 92     | 31     | 16     | 26     | 106    | 36     | 22     | 29     | 176    | 57     |
| 6.       | Gujarat        | 11.      | Vadodara           | 14     | 23     | 92     | 30     | 16     | 23     | 108    | 36     | 20     | 25     | 188    | 60     |
| 7.       | Haryana        | 12.      | Faridabad          | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| 8.       | Jammu& Kashmir | 13.      | Srinagar           | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | 153    | -      |

|     | Jharkhand      |   14. | Dhanbad             | 15   | 37   | 226   | -   | 15    | 37   | 238   | -   | 14   | 37   | 264   | -   |
|-----|----------------|-------|---------------------|------|------|-------|-----|-------|------|-------|-----|------|------|-------|-----|
| 9.  | Jharkhand      |    15 | Jamshedpur          | 36   | 45   | 136   | -   | 36    | 45   | 131   | -   | 37   | 46   | 128   | -   |
|     | Jharkhand      |    16 | Ranchi              | 20   | 37   | 196   | -   | 19 37 | 142  |       | -   | 18   | 36   | 122   | -   |
| 10. | Karnataka      |    17 | Bangalore           | 3 31 | 103  | 51    | 2   | 31    | 92   | 46    | 2   | 30   | 90   |       | 47  |
| 11. |                |    18 | Kochi 2             | 20   | 48   |       | - 2 | 19    |      | 51    | -   | 3    | 16   | 57    | -   |
| 11. |                |    19 | Kollam              | 4    | 8    | 46    | -   | 3     | 6    | 43    | -   | 3    | 5    | 47    | -   |
| 11. |                |    20 | Kozhikode           | 2    | 18   | 51    | -   | 2     | 18   | 47    | -   | 2    | 10   | 54    | 6   |
| 11. | Kerala         |    21 | Malapuram           | 2    | 17   | 37    | -   | 2     | 21   | 32    | -   | 2    | 26   | 31    | -   |
| 11. |                |    22 | Thiruvananthap uram | 10   | 25   | 53    | -   | 10    | 26   | 49    | -   | 9    | 24   | 49    | -   |
| 11. |                |    23 | Thissur             | 2    | 5    | 54    | -   | 2     | 5    | 56    | -   | 3    | 9    | 41    | -   |
| 12. | Madhya Pradesh |    24 | Bhopal              | 3    | 15   | 89    | 27  | 4     | 15   | 93    | 41  | 7    | 14   | 135   | 59  |
| 12. | Madhya Pradesh |    25 | Gwalior             | 10   | 14   | 96    | 52  | 10    | 17   | 110   | 47  | 13   | 21   | 134   | 62  |
| 12. | Madhya Pradesh |    26 | Indore              | 11   | 20   | 95    | 54  | 11    | 21   | 80    | 43  | 10   | 19   | 88    | 41  |
| 12. | Madhya Pradesh |    27 | Jabalpur            | 10   | 23   | 71    | 32  | 10    | 21   | 74    | 23  | 7    | 17   | 119   | 43  |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    28 | Aurangabad          | 14   | 39   | 92    | -   | 10    | 33   | 83    | -   | 13   | 35   | 70    | -   |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    29 | Mumbai              | 6    | 30   | 119   | -   | 3     | 18   | 151   | 40  | 2    | 21   | 166   | 46  |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    30 | Nagpur              | 16   | 26   | 118   | -   | 9     | 27   | 102   | -   | 10   | 28   | 103   | 44  |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    31 | Nashik              | 13   | 27   | 85    | -   | 12    | 22   | 81    | -   | 12   | 21   | 85    | -   |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    32 | Pune                | 28   | 78   | 107   | -   | 21    | 65   | 102   | -   | 37   | 75   | 106   | -   |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    33 | Thane               | 18   | 60   | 122   | -   | 18    | 47   | 125   | -   | 17   | 44   | 108   | -   |
| 13. | Maharashtr a   |    34 | Vasai- virar        | NA   | NA   | NA    | NA  | NA    | NA   | NA    | NA  | NA   | NA   | NA    | NA  |
| 14. | Punjab         |    35 | Amritsar            | 12   | 29   | 194   | -   | 11    | 27   | 168   | -   | 13   | 34   | 177   | -   |
| 14. | Punjab         |    36 | Ludhiana            | 11   | 25   | 139   | -   | 10    | 28   | 162   | -   | 9    | 32   | 162   | -   |
| 15. | Rajasthan      |    37 | Jaipur              | 8    | 33   | 199   | -   | 8     | 30   | 177   | -   | 8    | 32   | 165   | -   |
|     | Rajasthan      |    38 | Jodhpur             | 6    | 23   | 168   | -   | 6     | 21   | 180   | -   | 7    | 24   | 223   | -   |
|     | Rajasthan      |    39 | Kota                | 7    | 30   | 109   | -   | 8     | 28   | 130   | -   | 7    | 28   | 152   | -   |
| 16. | Tamilnadu      |    40 | Chennai             | 10   | 18   | 65    | 25  | 9     | 17   | 62    | 32  | 9    | 16   | 78    | 34  |
| 16. | Tamilnadu      |    41 | Coimbatore          | 6    | 24   | 59    | 35  | 5     | 26   | 49    | 34  | 6    | 23   | 54    | 32  |
| 16. | Tamilnadu      |    42 | Madurai             | 15   | 24   | 76    | 38  | 14    | 23   | 67    | 30  | 12   | 20   | 84    | 34  |
| 16. | Tamilnadu      |    43 | Trichy              | 12   | 20   | 95    | 27  | 12    | 20   | 86    |     | 17   | 23   | 110   | 53  |
| 17. | Telangana      |    44 | Hyderabad           | 5    | 27   | 101   | 49  | 6     | 28   | 108   | 54  | 5    | 30   | 105   | 55  |
| 18. | Uttar Pradesh  |    45 | Agra                | 5    | 22   | 198   | -   | 4     | 19   | 185   | 124 | 4    | 22   | 209   | 106 |
|     |                |    46 | Allahabad           | 4    | 37   | 196   | -   | 4     | 40   | 140   | -   | 4    | 45   | 231   | -   |
|     |                |    47 | Ghaziabad           | 15   | 28   | 235   | -   | 22    | 34   | 280   | -   | 21   | 43   | 245   | 103 |
|     |                |    48 | Kanpur              | 7    | 39   | 217   | -   | 7     | 45   | 224   | -   | 7    | 47   | 218   | -   |
|     |                |    49 | Lucknow             | 8    | 27   | 214   | -   | 8     | 26   | 246   | 102 | 7    | 30   | 217   | 108 |
|     |                |    50 | Meerut              | 7    | 55   | 157   | -   | 7     | 52   | 153   | -   | 7    | 58   | 177   | -   |

|    |             |   51. | Varanasi   |   11 |   32 |   256 |   - |   10 |   38 |   244 |   - |   9 |   34 |   189 |   - |
|----|-------------|-------|------------|------|------|-------|-----|------|------|-------|-----|-----|------|-------|-----|
| 19 | West Bengal |    52 | Asansol    |   13 |   42 |   211 |  88 |   12 |   37 |   163 |  67 |  13 |   35 |   146 |  58 |
| 19 | West Bengal |    53 | Kolkata    |    4 |   49 |   113 |  70 |    6 |   41 |   120 |  71 |   6 |   44 |   148 |  86 |

NB. NA- no monitoring station in the city,  '-' data not available, National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Residential, Industrial, Rural and others Areas (Annual average) for SO2 = 50 µg/m 3 , NO2 = 40 µg/m 3 , PM10 = 60 µg/m 3 & PM2.5 = 40 µg/m 3 and SO2 = 20 µg/m 3 , NO2 = 30 µg/m 3 , PM10 = 60 µg/m 3 and PM2.5 = 40 µg/m 3 for Ecologically sensitive area . The data furnished in the table for year 2018 is as available on date.