Lok Sabha Question No. 155 (STARRED), answered on 2023-02-13
Subject: Most Polluted Cities/Towns
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Hibi Eden

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 155

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2023

## Most Polluted Cities/Towns

## *155. SHRI HIBI EDEN:

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

- (a) whether the Government has identified the most polluted   cities/towns in the country;
- (b) whether the Government has any proposal to stop the increasing pollution level of those cities and towns;
- (c) whether Kochi's air quality turned worse during the last three years;
- (d) whether according to statistics of Air Quality Index (AQI), Vyttila, Kochi falls under the 'unhealthy' category;
- (e) whether a considerable reduction was detected in the AQI at the nine real-time air quality monitoring stations in six districts of Kerala following the lockdown in May 2021; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/proposed to    be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (f)  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PARA  (a)  TO  (f)  OF  STARRED QUESTION NO. 155 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2023 IN LOK SABHA RAISED BY SHRI HIBI EDEN TITLED 'MOST POLLUTED CITIES/TOWNS'

(a)&(b): Ministry  of  Environment  Forest  &  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  launched  National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January, 2019 which is a long-term, time-bound national level strategy  for  prevention,  control  and  abatement  of  air  pollution.  Under  NCAP,  it  has  been envisaged to achieve targets of 20 to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 in  131  cities  of  24  States  with  respect  to  base  year  2017.  Subsequently,  the  target  has  been revised  to  achieve  up  to  40%  reduction  or  achieve  National  Ambient  Air  Quality  Standards (NAAQS) in terms PM concentrations by 2025-26.

131 Cities include 123 non-attainment cities where air quality has exceeded National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for consecutively for five years, and 8 Million Plus population cities/ Urban Agglomerations. List of 131 cities covered under NCAP is enclosed at AnnexureI. Under NCAP, Cities  are  provided  performance  linked  funds  for  implementing  City  Action Plans for taking measures to improve air quality as per the specified annual targets in respective cities.

(c)  &  (d): Ambient  air  quality  data  of  Kochi  city  measured  during  the  years  2019-2021for parameters of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2 is found to be within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The air quality data of Kochi City measured during last three years (2019-2021) and Air Quality Index for the years 2021 and 2022 are provided at Annexure II.

(e)& (f): Air Quality Index (AQI) computed through six ambient air quality monitoring stations in cities Ernakulam, Eloor, Kannur, Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode, during years 2020,2021 & 2022 is falling  under  Good,  Satisfactory  and  Moderate  categories  (AQI<200).  One day out of measured  days  in  cities  Kannur,  Kochi  and  Kollam  is  found  to  be  under  Poor  Category (AQI>200). Details of AQI data of six air quality monitoring stations of Kerala are provided at Annexure  III. The  steps  taken  by  Government  to  improve  the  air  quality  are  enclosed  as Annexure-IV .

***

Annexure-I List of 131 cities covered under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

|   S. No. | State               | City              |
|----------|---------------------|-------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Anantapur*        |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Chitoor           |
|        3 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Eluru             |
|        4 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Guntur            |
|        5 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Kadapa            |
|        6 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Kurnool           |
|        7 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Nellore           |
|        8 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Ongole            |
|        9 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Rajahmundry       |
|       10 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Srikakulam        |
|       11 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Vijaywada*        |
|       12 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Vishakhapatnam*   |
|       13 | Andhra Pradesh (13) | Vizianagaram      |
|       14 | Assam (5)           | Guwahati          |
|       15 | Assam (5)           | Nagaon            |
|       16 | Assam (5)           | Nalbari           |
|       17 | Assam (5)           | Sibsagar          |
|       18 | Assam (5)           | Silcher           |
|       19 | Bihar (3)           | Gaya              |
|       20 | Bihar (3)           | Muzzaffarpur      |
|       21 | Bihar (3)           | Patna*            |
|       22 | Chandigarh (1)      | Chandigarh        |
|       23 | Chhattisgarh (3)    | *DurgBhillainagar |
|       24 | Chhattisgarh (3)    | Korba             |

|   25. |                      | *Raipur       |
|-------|----------------------|---------------|
|    26 | Delhi (1)            | Delhi         |
|    27 | Gujarat (4)          | Ahmedabad*    |
|    28 | Gujarat (4)          | Surat*        |
|    29 | Gujarat (4)          | Vadodara*     |
|    30 | Gujarat (4)          | Rajkot*       |
|    31 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Baddi         |
|    32 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Damtal        |
|    33 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Kala Amb      |
|    34 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Nalagarh      |
|    35 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Paonta Sahib  |
|    36 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Parwanoo      |
|    37 | Himachal Pradesh (7) | Sunder Nagar  |
|    38 | Jammu & Kashmir (2)  | Jammu         |
|    39 | Jammu & Kashmir (2)  | Srinagar      |
|    40 | Jharkhand (3)        | Dhanbad*      |
|    41 | Jharkhand (3)        | Jamshedpur*   |
|    42 | Jharkhand (3)        | Ranchi*       |
|    43 | Karnataka (4)        | Bangalore*    |
|    44 | Karnataka (4)        | Devangere     |
|    45 | Karnataka (4)        | Gulburga      |
|    46 | Karnataka (4)        | Hubli-Dharwad |
|    47 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Bhopal*       |
|    48 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Dewas         |
|    49 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Gwalior*      |
|    50 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Indore*       |
|    51 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Jabalpur*     |
|    52 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Sagar         |
|    53 | Madhya Pradesh (7)   | Ujjain        |

|   54. |               | Akola                         |
|-------|---------------|-------------------------------|
|    55 |               | Amravati                      |
|    56 |               | Aurangabad*                   |
|    57 |               | Badlapur*                     |
|    58 |               | Chandrapur                    |
|    59 |               | Jalgaon                       |
|    60 |               | Jalna                         |
|    61 |               | Kolhapur                      |
|    62 |               | Latur                         |
|    63 |               | Mumbai*                       |
|    64 |               | Nagpur*                       |
|    65 |               | Nashik*                       |
|    66 |               | Navi Mumbai*                  |
|    67 |               | Pune (Hadapsar&Mohammadwadi)* |
|    68 |               | Sangli                        |
|    69 |               | Solapur                       |
|    70 |               | Thane*                        |
|    71 |               | Vasai Virar*                  |
|    72 |               | Ulhasnagar*                   |
|    73 | Meghalaya (1) | Byrnihat                      |
|    74 | Meghalaya (1) | Dimapur                       |
|    75 | Meghalaya (1) | Kohima                        |
|    76 | Orissa (7)    | Angul                         |
|    77 | Orissa (7)    | Balasore                      |
|    78 | Orissa (7)    | Bhubneshwar                   |
|    79 | Orissa (7)    | Cuttack                       |
|    80 | Orissa (7)    | Kalinga Nagar                 |
|    81 | Orissa (7)    | Rourkela                      |

|   82. |                    | Talcher         |
|-------|--------------------|-----------------|
|    83 | Punjab (9)         | Amritsar*       |
|    84 | Punjab (9)         | Dera Baba Nanak |
|    85 | Punjab (9)         | DeraBassi       |
|    86 | Punjab (9)         | Gobindgarh      |
|    87 | Punjab (9)         | Jalandhar       |
|    88 | Punjab (9)         | Khanna          |
|    89 | Punjab (9)         | Ludhiana*       |
|    90 | Punjab (9)         | NayaNangal      |
|    91 | Punjab (9)         | Patiala         |
|    92 | Rajasthan (5)      | Alwar           |
|    93 | Rajasthan (5)      | Jaipur*         |
|    94 | Rajasthan (5)      | Jodhpur*        |
|    95 | Rajasthan (5)      | Kota*           |
|    96 | Rajasthan (5)      | Udaipur         |
|    97 | Tamil Nadu (4)     | Trichy*         |
|    98 | Tamil Nadu (4)     | Tuticorin       |
|    99 | Tamil Nadu (4)     | Chennai*        |
|   100 | Tamil Nadu (4)     | Madurai*        |
|   101 | Telangana (4)      | Hyderabad*      |
|   102 | Telangana (4)      | Nalgonda        |
|   103 | Telangana (4)      | Patencheruvu*   |
|   104 | Telangana (4)      | Sangareddy      |
|   105 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Agra*           |
|   106 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Allahabad*      |
|   107 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Anpara          |
|   108 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Bareily         |
|   109 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Firozabad       |
|   110 | Uttar Pradesh (17) | Gajraula        |

|   111. |                 | Ghaziabad*   |
|--------|-----------------|--------------|
|    112 |                 | Gorakhpur    |
|    113 |                 | Jhansi       |
|    114 |                 | Kanpur*      |
|    115 |                 | Khurja       |
|    116 |                 | Lucknow*     |
|    117 |                 | Moradabad    |
|    118 |                 | Noida        |
|    119 |                 | Raebareli    |
|    120 |                 | Varanasi*    |
|    121 |                 | Meerut*      |
|    122 | Uttarakhand (3) | Dehradun     |
|    123 | Uttarakhand (3) | Kashipur     |
|    124 | Uttarakhand (3) | Rishikesh    |
|    125 | West Bengal (6) | Asansol*     |
|    126 | West Bengal (6) | Barrackpore* |
|    127 | West Bengal (6) | Durgapur     |
|    128 | West Bengal (6) | Haldia       |
|    129 | West Bengal (6) | Howrah*      |
|    130 | West Bengal (6) | Kolkata*     |
|    131 | Haryana (1)     | Faridabad*   |

* Cities funded under 15 th Finance Commission air quality performance grant.

Annexure - II

Ambient air quality data of Kochi city, Kerala during 2019, 2020 and 2021

| Years                                 | Annual average concentration in µg/m 3   | Annual average concentration in µg/m 3   | Annual average concentration in µg/m 3   | Annual average concentration in µg/m 3   |
|---------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|                                       | SO 2                                     | NO 2                                     | PM 10                                    | PM 2.5                                   |
| 2019                                  | 3                                        | 14                                       | 46                                       | 32                                       |
| 2020                                  | 9                                        | 11                                       | 53                                       | 29                                       |
| 2021                                  | 6                                        | 11                                       | 53                                       | 30                                       |
| National Ambient Air Quality Standard | 50                                       | 40                                       | 60                                       | 40                                       |

Number of days in different category of Air Quality Index in Kochi during 2021 and 2022

|   Months |   Good (0-50) |   Satisfactory (51-100) |   Moderate (101-200) |   Poor (201-300) |   Very Poor (301- 400) |   Severe (>401) |   Total days |
|----------|---------------|-------------------------|----------------------|------------------|------------------------|-----------------|--------------|
|     2021 |           139 |                      91 |                   26 |                2 |                      0 |               0 |          258 |
|     2022 |            31 |                     122 |                  115 |               23 |                      0 |               0 |          291 |

Annexure - III Number of days in different category of Air Quality Index in Kerala during April-June for the year 2020,2021 & 2022 (following lockdown period of May 2021)

| Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                       | 2020                                                                        | 2020                                                                        | 2020                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2022                                                                        | 2022                                                                        | 2022                                                                        |
| City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     | City : Ernakulam; Station : Kacheripady                                     |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 5                                                                           | 22                                                                          | 18                                                                          | 18                                                                          | 16                                                                          | 22                                                                          |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 24                                                                          | 19                                                                          | 10                                                                          | 14                                                                          | 2                                                                           | 7                                                                           | 10                                                                          | 8                                                                           | 3                                                                           |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             | 9                                                                           | 14                                                                          | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        | City : Eloor; Station : Udyogamandal                                        |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 14                                                                          | 7                                                                           | 14                                                                          | 27                                                                          | 19                                                                          |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 16                                                                          | 19                                                                          | 9                                                                           | 3                                                                           | 11                                                                          | 27                                                                          | 29                                                                          | 13                                                                          | 29                                                                          |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             | 1                                                                           | 3                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         | City : Kannur; Station : Thavakkara                                         |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 5                                                                           | 20                                                                          | 26                                                                          |                                                                             | 1                                                                           | 4                                                                           | 4                                                                           | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 14                                                                          | 8                                                                           |                                                                             | 17                                                                          | 17                                                                          | 14                                                                          | 21                                                                          | 27                                                                          | 27                                                                          |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 12                                                                          | 11                                                                          | 5                                                                           | 1                                                                           | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             | City : Kochi; Station : Vyttila                                             |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 16                                                                          |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 14                                                                          | 13                                                                          | 2                                                                           | 1                                                                           | 11                                                                          |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 10                                                                          | 29                                                                          | 29                                                                          | 21                                                                          | 3                                                                           | 7                                                                           | 14                                                                          | 19                                                                          | 15                                                                          |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             | 7                                                                           | 8                                                                           | 2                                                                           |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        | City : Kollam; Station : Polayathode                                        |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 8                                                                           | 10                                                                          | 9                                                                           |                                                                             | 11                                                                          | 4                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             | 2                                                                           |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 6                                                                           | 13                                                                          | 16                                                                          | 18                                                                          | 14                                                                          | 24                                                                          | 25                                                                          | 26                                                                          | 28                                                                          |

| Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   | Monthly Comparison of Number of Days in different category of AQI: Kerala   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                       | 2020                                                                        | 2020                                                                        | 2020                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2021                                                                        | 2022                                                                        | 2022                                                                        | 2022                                                                        |
| Moderate                                                                    | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             | 10                                                                          | 1                                                                           | 2                                                                           |                                                                             | 3                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 1                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         | City : Kozhikode; Station : Palayam                                         |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 23                                                                          | 29                                                                          | 28                                                                          |                                                                             | 20                                                                          | 17                                                                          | 3                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 7                                                                           | 2                                                                           |                                                                             | 28                                                                          | 6                                                                           | 8                                                                           | 24                                                                          | 28                                                                          | 27                                                                          |
| Moderate Poor                                                               |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Kariavattom                            |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 4                                                                           | 23                                                                          | 14                                                                          | 14                                                                          |                                                                             |                                                                             | 20                                                                          | 9                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 23                                                                          | 7                                                                           | 5                                                                           | 15                                                                          | 20                                                                          | 30                                                                          | 9                                                                           | 9                                                                           | 11                                                                          |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              | City :Thiruvananthapuram ; Station : Plammoodu                              |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        | 25                                                                          | 25                                                                          | 21                                                                          | 17                                                                          | 29                                                                          | 24                                                                          | 24                                                                          | 27                                                                          | 28                                                                          |
| Satisfactory                                                                | 4                                                                           |                                                                             | 4                                                                           | 10                                                                          |                                                                             | 3                                                                           | 6                                                                           | 4                                                                           |                                                                             |
| Moderate Poor                                                               |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 2                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| poor Severe                                                                 |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               | City : Thrissur; Station : Corporation Ground                               |
| AQI Category                                                                | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        | Apr                                                                         | May                                                                         | June                                                                        |
| Good                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 3                                                                           | 4                                                                           |                                                                             | 13                                                                          | 9                                                                           |
| Satisfactory                                                                |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 26                                                                          | 15                                                                          | 25                                                                          | 17                                                                          | 1                                                                           | 1                                                                           |
| Moderate                                                                    |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             | 2                                                                           |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Poor                                                                        |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |
| Very poor                                                                   |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |                                                                             |

## Measures taken by the Government for Air Quality Management

## i. Vehicular Emissions:

-  Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles since April, 2018 in NCT of Delhi and from 1st April, 2020 for rest of the country.
-  Network  of  metro  rails  for  public  transport  are  enhanced  and  more  cities  are covered.
-  Development of Expressways and Highways are also reducing the fuel consumption and pollution.
-  Eastern  Peripheral  Expressway  &  Western  Peripheral  Expressway  has  been operationalized to divert non destined traffic from Delhi.
-  Ban on all diesel vehicles older than 10 years and all petrol vehicles older than 15 years, in Delhi and NCR. (Hon'ble SC order dated 29.10.2018).
-  Environment  protection  charges  (EPC)  have  been  imposed  on  diesel  vehicles with engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi NCR.
-  Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuels like CNG, LPG, ethanol blending in petrol.
-  Permit requirement for electric vehicles has been exempted.
-  Promotion of public  transport and improvements in roads and building of more bridges to ease congestion on roads.
-  RFID  (radio-frequency  identity)  system  implemented  by  South  Delhi  Municipal Corporation (SDMC)  for  collection of  toll  and  Environment  Compensation Charges from commercial vehicles entering Delhi.
-  Introduction of BS VI compliant vehicles across the country since April, 2020.
-  Sustainable  Alternative  Towards  Affordable  Transportation  (SATAT)  has  been launched as an initiative to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use in automotive fuels.
-  Department  of  Heavy  Industry  is  providing  subsidy  on  e-vehicles  under  Faster Adoption  and  Manufacture  of  (Hybrid  &)  Electric  Vehicles  in  India  (FAME  -II India) scheme.

## ii. Industrial Emissions:

-  Notification  regarding  SO2  and  NOx  emission  standards  have  been  issued  for Thermal Power Plants
-  Ban on use of pet coke and furnace oil as fuel in NCR States since October 24, 2017 and ban on use of imported pet coke in the country since July 26, 2018,

with exception for use in permitted processes (processes in cement plants, lime kilns and calcium carbide manufacturing units).

-  Shifting of industrial units to PNG.
-  Installation  of  online  continuous  emission  monitoring devices  in  highly  polluting industries.
-  Brick kilns shift to zig-zag technology or vertical shaft or use Piped Natural Gas as fuel in brick making to reduce pollution.
-  System and Procedure for Emission Compliance Testing of Retro-fit Emission
-  Control Devices (RECD) for Diesel Power Generating Set Engines up to Gross Mechanical Power 800 kW developed.
-  Development of low carbon strategies across sectors such as phasing out older coal based power plants, compliance of standards, City Gas Distribution (CGD) network, emphasis on improved power reliability in urban areas, etc.

## iii. Air Pollution due to dust and burning of waste:

-  Notification  of  seven  waste  management  rules  covering  solid  waste,  plastic waste,  e-  waste,  bio-medical  waste,  C&D  waste,  hazardous  waste  and  battery waste.
-  Setting up infrastructure such as waste processing plants.
-  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic and e-waste management.
-  Ban on burning of biomass/garbage.
-  Bio-mining of three dumpsites at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur is being carried out.
-  Under Central Sector Scheme on 'Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for insitu  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  Centers.  In  2022,  the Scheme  has  been  merged  with  Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization (SMAM) and SMAM has been merged with RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana (RKVY).
-  The  Commission  for  Air  Quality  Management  in  NCR  and  Adjoining  Areas (CAQM) on 17.09.2021 directed the coal-based Thermal Power plants situated up  to  a  radius  of  300  Km  of  Delhi  to  co-fire  biomass  based  Pellets,  Torrefied Pellets/Briquettes (with focus on paddy straw) with Coal (up to 5-10%).

## iv. Monitoring of Ambient Air Quality:

-  Expansion  of  air  quality  monitoring  network  of  manual  as  well  as  continuous monitoring stations under programmes such as National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP).
-  Initiation  of  pilot  projects  to  assess  alternate  ambient  monitoring  technologies such as satellite-based monitoring.

## vi. Other Steps:

-  Public Grievances and Response System (PGRS) is developed under NCAP.
-  Emergency Response System (ERS) has been prepared in NCAP cities.
-  Air  quality  monitoring  cell  has  been  constituted  across  the  country  in  NCAP Cities.
-  Public Complaints regarding air pollution issues in Delhi NCR are taken through 'Sameer App', 'Emails' (Aircomplaints.cpcb@gov.in) and 'Social Media Networks' (Facebook and Twitter).
-  Introduction  of  green  crackers  with  low  emission  and  noise  levels.  Green Crackers have 30% potential reduction of PM and gaseous emissions compared to conventional firework.
-  Ministry  is  promoting  people's  participation  and  awareness  building  among citizens for environmental conservation through Green Good 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.
-  Extension of UjawalaYojana to ensure shifting to cleaner fuel.
-  Swacch Bharat Mission and Waste Management initiatives.
-  The  Commission  for  Air  Quality  Management  in  NCR  and  Adjoining  Areas (CAQM) has come out with a policy to curb air  pollution  in  NCR,  along with  a standard list of approved fuels for NCR for industrial and other applications.

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