Lok Sabha Question No. 1874 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-30
Subject: Smog Towers
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, Rekha Arun Verma

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1874

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 30.07.2021

## Smog Towers

## 1874.  SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

## SHRIMATI REKHA VERMA:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to set up smog towers in all major cities of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to tackle the problem of air pollution;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the other measures taken by the Union Government to combat the ever deteriorating problem of air pollution in country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) and (b):

Central Government has no proposal under consideration to set up smog towers in any city of Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra.

(c)

The  Government  has  taken  several  steps  for  mitigation  of  air  pollution  which  interalia includes the following:

- a) Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles from 1 st April, 2020.
- b) Network of Metro rails for public transport are enhanced and more cities are covered.
- c) Development of Expressway and Highways  are  also  reducing  the  fuel  consumption and pollution.
- d) Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuels like CNG, LPG, ethanol blending in petrol.
- e) Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) -2 scheme has been rolled out.
- f) Shifting of Brick kilns to zig-zag technology for reduction of pollution.
- g) Industrial units shifting to PNG.
- h) Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana is promoting use of cleaner household cooking fuels.
- i) A new initiative,'Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), is launched to set up 5000 Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use in automotive fuels.
- j) Installation of on-line continuous monitoring devices in highly polluting industries.
- k) Setting up infrastructure such as waste processing plants.
- l) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic and e-waste management.
- m) Ban on burning of biomass/garbage.
- n) Under 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', agricultural machines  and  equipment  for  in-situ crop residue management  are  promoted  with  50%  subsidy  to  the  individual  farmers  and  80% subsidy for establishment of Custom Hiring Centres.
- o) The Central Government launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a longterm, time-bound, national level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20 % to 30 % reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024.
- p) ₹  376.5  crores  have  been  sanctioned  to  non-attainment  cities  under  NCAP  for initiating actions such as expansion of monitoring network, construction and demolition waste management facilities, non-motorised transport infrastructure, green buffers, mechanical street sweepers, composting units etc.
- q) As per the Fifteenth  Finance commission recommendations ₹4400 crores have been released  in  the  Budget  of  FY  2020-21  to  tackle  the  burgeoning  problem  of  air pollution for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population. Further, an amount of ₹12,139 crores has been allocated for improvement of air quality for the award period FY 2021-26.
- r) City  Specific  Action  plans  for  improvement  of  air  quality  has  been  prepared  and approved for implementation.
- s) Implementation of the city specific action plans are regularly monitored by Committees  at  Central  and  State  level  namely  Steering  Committee,  Monitoring Committee and Implementation Committee.
- t) Technical  and  scientific  institutes  of  repute  are  working  as  knowledge  partners  to NCAP

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