Lok Sabha Question No. 304 (STARRED), answered on 2025-08-11
Subject: Outcomes of NCAP
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Naveen Jindal

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 304

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025

## Outcomes of NCAP

## 304*.   SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL:

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

- (a) the  measures  taken/being  taken  to  address  the  problem  of  air  pollution  particularly concerning particulate matter, vehicular emissions and ozone levels in the major cities across the country;
- (b) the status of the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) and the expected outcomes in the next five years;
- (c) whether the  Government  proposes to  implement  any  specific  projects  or  policies  to tackle water pollution, including industrial effluents, sewerage and agricultural runoff, in major river basins, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of progress made in reducing plastic waste and promoting waste management practices at the local level and the role of the Government in this regard; and
- (e) the  measures  being  implemented  to  address  the  issue  of  land  degradation  and desertification along with the expected outcomes therefrom?

## ANSWER

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

## (a) to (e)

A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PARA  (a)  TO  (e)  OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 304 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025 IN LOK SABHA RAISED BY SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL TITLED 'OUTCOMES OF NCAP'

(a) and (b): National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  in  January  2019  aims  to  improve  air  quality  in  130  nonattainment and Million-Plus Cities in 24 States/UTs.

Under NCAP, target has been set to achieve reduction in PM10 levels of up to 40% or achievement of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS; 60 microgram/cubic meter) by 2025-26 as compared to the levels of 2019-20.

Performance linked grant of ₹ 13,036.52 crore has been provided to 130 cities as a critical gap funding to implement air pollution mitigation measures, during 2019-20 till date. So far, an amount of ₹ 9,600 crore (74%) has been utilised by 130 cities. The programme leverages mobilisation of resources through convergence of various schemes of Central & State Governments such as Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), AMRUT, Smart City Mission, PM e-Bus Sewa, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), and Nagar Van Yojana, as well as resources of State Govts.  /  UT  administration,  Municipal  Corporations  and  other  developmental  authorities  for implementation of action plans.

The focused actions by 130 cities under NCAP have shown positive results with 103 cities showing reduction in PM10 concentration in 2024-25 with respect to 2017-18, out of which 64 cities have shown reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20% and 25 of these cities have achieved a reduction of more than 40%. A total of 22 Cities have met National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and have PM10 Concentrations less than 60 µg/m 3 . Details of air quality improvement in cities covered under NCAP is placed at Annexure I .

In addition, the Government has taken several initiatives to address vehicular pollution which interalia include leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel and vehicle norms effective from 1st April 2020, promotion of e-mobility and alternate fuels, implementation  of voluntary vehicle scrapping policy and implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for End-of- Life Vehicles (ELVs).

The Government of India introduced the following schemes to promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) and to address vehicular pollution, as below:

- (i) PM-eBus Sewa Scheme by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA): Launched on  16.08.2023,  which  aims  to  augment  city  bus  operations  in  urban  areas  with  Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 20,000 crore for deploying 10,000 electric buses on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. In addition, it supports the development of depot and charging infrastructure, thereby enhancing clean and efficient public transport.
- (ii) PM E-DRIVE Scheme by Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI): Launched on 29.09.2024 for promotion of electric mobility in the country with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over a period of two years. The scheme provides subsidies or demand incentives worth Rs.3,679

crore to e-2 Wheelers, e-3 Wheelers, e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EVs. It also  supports  the  development  of  EV  charging  infrastructure  and  the  modernization  of vehicle testing facilities.

Further,  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways  (MoRTH)  has  formulated  the  Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP) for creation of an ecosystem to phase out older unfit and polluting vehicles. MoRTH notified the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021 vide G.S.R. 653(E) dated 23.09.2021 for establishment of Registered Vehicles Scrapping Facility (RVSF).

MoRTH  has notified the Central Motor Vehicles (Twenty First Amendment) Rules, 2021 vide G.S.R.  652(E)  dated  23.09.2021  for  recognition,  regulation  and  control  of  automated  testing stations, the procedure of fitness testing of vehicles through automated equipment and the procedure for grant of Certificate of Fitness by automated testing stations.

Further, the MoEF&CC notified the Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Rules, 2025 vide S.O. 98(E) dated 06.01.2025 for environmentally sound management of end-of-life vehicles. Under the said Rules, producers have been mandated to fulfil the obligation of Extended Producer Responsibility  (EPR)  for  the  vehicles  that  they  have  introduced  or  introduces  in  the  domestic market, including vehicles  put to self-use,  to  ensure the specified  end-of-life vehicle scrapping targets.

Ground-level  ozone  is  a  secondary  pollutant  formed  in  the  atmosphere  through  complex photochemical  reactions  involving  oxides  of  nitrogen  (NOx)  and  volatile  organic  compounds (VOCs). These primary pollutants are released in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities, including industrial activities and vehicular emissions.

Ministry  notified  the  National  Ambient  Air  Quality  Standards  (NAAQS)  for  the  permissible concentrations of ozone as 100 µg/m³ for an 8-hour average and 180 µg/m³ for a 1-hour average, applicable across industrial, residential, rural, and ecologically sensitive areas.

To address ground-level ozone levels, MoEFCC has revised and introduced emission standards for NOₓ and VOCs across multiple industrial sectors under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986. These  sectors  include  the  man-made  fiber  industry,  fertilizer  manufacturing,  pharmaceutical production, and paint and coating industries, among others.

Further, Ministry has notified emission standards for more than 80 categories of industries and the actions  towards  control  of  industrial  pollution  are  implemented  by  industries.  Monitoring  and enforcement of industrial emission norms are carried out by the State Pollution Control Boards under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 through consent mechanism.

(c): The Government enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for protection of environment including water bodies. The Central  and  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)  /  Pollution  Control  Committees  (PCCs) implement the provisions of both the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  to  prevent  and  control  pollution  of  aquatic  resources.

Regulation  of  industrial  Pollution  is  implemented  through  various  provisions  of  the  Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 under consent mechanism by the respective SPCB / PCC.

Further,  the  Government  stipulated  general  discharge  standards  and  industry  specific  effluent discharge standards under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 to prevent industrial pollution in the water bodies. The Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) have been installed by 17 categories of industries and Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in the country as per directives of CPCB to monitor the effluent quality on real-time basis to enable the identification of non-complying units and the implementation of corrective actions.

In addition, CPCB also periodically issues directions to the concerned departments in the States for management  of  sewage  and  wastewater  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  notified  under  the Environment  (Protection)  Rules,  1986  and  for  ensuring  proper  operation  of  existing  Sewage Treatment  Plants  (STPs),  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plants  (CETPs) and  industrial  pollution control, under Section 18 (1)(b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as well as under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

CPCB in association with SPCBs / PCCs has established a National Water Quality Monitoring Network (NWMP) for monitoring the water quality of aquatic bodies in the country. At present, CPCB has Nation-wide Water Quality Network  comprising  4736  locations  across  the  country. Distribution of monitoring network includes 2155 locations on rivers, 909 on stagnant water bodies, 1233 on Groundwater, 227 Marine locations and 212 on other water bodies such as drains, canals, Water Treatment Plant (WTPs) & Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).

CPCB has identified Polluted River Stretches (PRS) in the country based on the levels of water pollution with respect to Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). In the Year 2018, 351 polluted river stretches were identified on 323 rivers. These PRS have reduced to 311 across 279 rivers in the year 2022.

For  rejuvenation  of  Polluted  River  Stretches  (PRS),  action  plans  were  prepared  by  River Rejuvenation Committee (RRC) constituted by the respective State Government/ UT Administration, to make these river stretches fit for bathing purposes i.e. BOD ˂ 3 mg/L and Fecal Coliform ˂ 500 Most Probable Number per 100 mL.

Further, action plans have been prepared which covers aspects such as source control (municipal sewage  management,  industrial  pollution  control,  waste  management),  river  catchment/basin management (adoption of good irrigation practices, utilization of treated  sewage,  ground water recharge aspects), Flood Plain Zone protection and its management (setting up of bio-diversity parks,  removal  of  encroachments,  rain  water  harvesting,  plantation  on  both  sides  of  the  river), Environmental Flow (E-Flow) and watershed management.

SPCBs / PCCs have been directed under Section 18(1) (b) of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution)  Act,  1974  to  direct  concerned  agencies  in  the  State/UT  to  develop  infrastructure for sewage treatment. 'Revised Guidelines on Idol Immersion in Water Bodies' have been issued to States/UTs for their implementation to address pollution in water bodies.

(d): Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, notified by MoEFCC provide the statutory framework for environmentally sound management of plastic waste in the country. The local bodies both in urban  and  rural  are  mandated  to  undertake  plastic  waste  management.  As  per  Plastic  Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on 14 th March, 2024, every urban local body and Panchayat at District Level have been mandated to submit an annual report online with respect to measures taken under Plastic Waste Management Rules, as per prescribed proforma.

Under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0) launched in 2021 by MoHUA, central assistance  is  provided,  inter  alia,  for  setting  up  of  waste  processing  facilities  as  per  scheme guidelines. Allocation of central share to States/UTs, under Solid Waste Management component of SBM-U 2.0, includes plastic waste management. Awareness generation of citizens for effective solid waste management including plastic waste management is a standard activity undertaken by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under Swachh Bharat Mission.

Under  Swachh  Bharat  Mission,  the  ULBs  have  significantly  enhanced  solid  waste  processing infrastructure, resulting in processing of solid waste to 80.3%.

Central  financial  assistance  is  provided  under  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  Grameen  Phase  II implemented by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for establishment of Plastic Waste Management Units (PWMUs) in rural areas. Under the Mission, rural bodies have established 2129 PWMUs so far.

The local authorities along with CPCB/SPCB/PCC have undertaken regular enforcement drives across the country to enforce ban on identified Single Use Plastic (SUP) items, which have low utility  and  high  littering  potential,  with  effect  from  1 st July,  2022.  As  per  details  provided  by SPCB/PCC  and  details  available  at  SUP  compliance  monitoring  portal,  a  total  of  8,61,740 inspections have been conducted and 1985 tonnes of banned SUP items have been seized and a total of Rs. 19.82 crores of fine has been imposed during the period July, 2022 to July, 2025. The local authorities have also taken steps along with Central Government and State Governments on moving  towards  eco-friendly  alternatives  such  as  establishing  distribution  points  for  ecoalternatives, campaigns for promotion of cloth bags etc.

The Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Packaging also allow local bodies to leverage EPR on plastic packaging for plastic waste management. Around 850 local bodies have registered under the Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Packaging. Since the issuance of the Guidelines on 16 th February 2022, nearly 157 lakh tonnes of plastic packaging waste has been recycled.

(e): The  Government  has  undertaken  a  number  of  measures  to  combat  land  degradation  and desertification, promote afforestation, improve soil health, conserve water, and ensuring the overall sustainability of desert regions, such as:

- (i) Publication of Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, by Space Applications Centre (SAC) Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad, which provides the statewise    extent  of  land  degradation  and  desertification  in  India.  The  Atlas  by  providing important  data  and  technical  inputs,  serves  as  an important  tool  in  planning  and implementation  of  schemes  aimed  at  restoration  of  land.  An  online  portal  has  been

developed with the help of Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad for correlation of degraded area of land with the processes causing degradation.

- (ii) Set  up  of  a  Centre  of  Excellence  for  Sustainable  Land  Management  (CoE-SLM)  at  the Indian  Council  for  Forestry  Research  and  Education  (ICFRE)  Dehradun  to  engage  and enable  parties  at  international,  national  and  local  levels  in  addressing  land  degradation related issues with the ultimate goal of achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). It also  aims  at  enhanced  South-South  Cooperation,  knowledge  sharing,  promotion  of  best practices, sharing of India's experiences with cost-effective and sustainable land management strategies and developing ideas for transformative projects and programs and capacity building.
- (iii) Research by ICFRE - Arid Forest Research Institute (ICFRE-AFRI), Jodhpur, in forestry to develop technologies aimed at increasing vegetative cover and conserving biodiversity in the hot arid and semi-arid regions of India.
- (iv) At the United Nations Framework Convention to Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of  the  Paris  (COP),  2015  in  Paris,  India  joined  the  voluntary  Bonn  Challenge  and  has pledged to restore 26 million hectares of degraded forest land by 2030.
- (v) Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) which contributes to desertification control by improving water availability in arid and semi-arid regions, by encouraging water conservation practices and efficient irrigation with focus on providing irrigation  solutions,  especially  in  arid  and  semi-arid  regions  like  Rajasthan,  to  improve agricultural productivity and support afforestation efforts.

In  addition  to  these,  several  initiatives  for  increasing  and  improving  green  cover  and  thereby combating desertification are taken up through various afforestation related schemes implemented by the Government of India.

The Ministry has initiated the Aravalli Green Wall Project to spread green cover in the 5 km buffer area  around  the  Aravalli  Hill  Ranges  covering  29  Districts  across  four  states  namely  Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The project spans the entire 700 km of the Aravalli range aims to improve the biodiversity of Aravalli Hills through afforestation, reforestation and restoration of water bodies.

The Ministry also supports the States/UTs for various afforestation activities through Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  for  conservation,  development  and  promotion  of  forests  under  its  major schemes  namely,  National  Mission  for  a  Green  India  (GIM)  and  Forest  Fire  Protection  & Management Scheme (FFPM).

Further,  the  Compensatory  Afforestation  fund  under  the  Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA)  contributes  to  afforestation  and  consequently combatting desertification.

In addition to these, State Governments also implement various schemes for tree plantation/afforestation to address land degradation such as Nagar Van Yojana (NVY) and National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for increasing green cover and developing mini forests in urban spaces.

Under NVY, MoEFCC has released the amount of Rs. 444.4 crore to develop 371 Nagar Vans and 176 Nagar Vatikas with an area of 38,958 acres in 547 Urban local bodies. Under NCAP, 12,131 acres of greening of urban areas and 756 km of greening along traffic corridors have been developed in 95 cities.

***

## Annexure I

## Improvement in PM10 concentrations of cities under NCAP in FY 2024-25 w.r.t. FY 2017-18

|   S. No. | Improvement in PM 10 in 2024-25 w.r.t FY 2017-18 (%)   |   No. of Cities | Cities                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Above 40                                               |              25 | Gujarat (2): Rajkot, Surat; Himachal Pradesh (1): Nalagarh; Jammu & Kashmir (1): Srinagar; Jharkhand (1): Dhanbad; Maharashtra (3): Badlapur, Greater Mumbai, Ulhasnagar; Meghalaya (1): Byrnihat; Nagaland (1): Kohima; Punjab (2): Amritsar, Jalandhar; Tamil Nadu (1): Tuticorin; Uttar Pradesh (11): Agra, Allahabad, Bareilly, Firozabad, Ghaziabad, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Raebareli, Varanasi; Uttarakhand (1): Dehradun                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|        2 | 20-40                                                  |              39 | Andhra Pradesh (6): Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada; Assam (2): Nagaon, Sivasagar; Gujarat (2): Ahmedabad, Vadodara; Haryana (1): Faridabad; Himachal Pradesh (4): Baddi, Kala Amb, Parwanoo, Sunder Nagar; Jammu & Kashmir (1): Jammu; Jharkhand (1): Ranchi; Karnataka (3): Bengaluru, Devanagere, Hubli-Dharwad; Madhya Pradesh (1): Jabalpur; Maharashtra (3): Akola, Amravati; Thane Nagaland (1): Dimapur; Punjab (4): Dera Baba Nanak, Khanna, Ludhiana, Naya Nangal; Rajasthan (2): Alwar, Jodhpur; Tamil Nadu (1): Trichy; Telangana (1): Hyderabad; Uttar Pradesh (3): Gajraula, Gorakhpur, Noida; Uttarakhand (1): Rishikesh; West Bengal (2): Howrah, Kolkata |
|        3 | Above 10 to less than 20                               |              20 | Andhra Pradesh (3): Chittoor, Eluru, Ongole; Bihar (1): Muzaffarpur; Chhattisgarh (1): Durg-Bhilainagar; Delhi (1): Delhi; Madhya Pradesh (1): Ujjain; Maharashtra (2): Latur, Sangli; Punjab (2): Mandi- Gobindgarh, Patiala; Rajasthan (2): Jaipur, Kota; Tamil Nadu (2): Chennai, Madurai; Uttar Pradesh (3): Anpara, Khurja, Meerut; West Bengal (2): Asansol, Haldia                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|        4 | Less than 10                                           |              19 | Andhra Pradesh (1): Guntur ; Assam (2): Guwahati, Nalbari; Bihar (1): Patna; Himachal Pradesh (1): Paonta Sahib; Karnataka (1): Gulbarga/Kalaburgi; Madhya Pradesh (2): Bhopal, Gwalior ; Maharashtra (7): Chandrapur, Jalna, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Vasai Virar; Odisha (1): Cuttack; Rajasthan (1): Udaipur; Uttarakhand (1): Kashipur; West Bengal (1): Durgapur                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |

| 5   | Nil   | 27   | Andhra Pradesh (3): Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram; Assam (1): Silchar; Bihar (1): Gaya; Chandigarh (1): Chandigarh; Chhattisgarh (2): Korba, Raipur; Himachal Pradesh (1): Damtal; Jharkhand (1): Jamshedpur; Madhya Pradesh (3): Dewas, Indore, Sagar; Maharashtra (4): Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Navi Mumbai, Solapur; Odisha (6): Angul, Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Nagar, Rourkela, Talcher; Punjab (1): Dera Bassi; Telangana (2): Nalgonda, Sangareddy; West Bengal (1): Barrackpore   |
|-----|-------|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|