Lok Sabha Question No. 4985 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Funds utilised under National Clean Air Programme
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Balram Naik Porika

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4985

TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026

## Funds utilised under National Clean Air Programme

## 4985. SHRI BALRAM NAIK PORIKA:

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

- (a) the details of funds allocated and utilised under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the percentage reduction in PM2.5 levels achieved in the 131 non-attainment cities during the last three years;
- (b) the number of cities that met the annual targets and the status of city-specific action plans;
- (c) the progress of afforestation under Green India Mission and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), including area covered and survival rate of plantations; and
- (d) the steps taken to meet India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets under Paris Agreement and the status of International Climate Finance received?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) & (b) : Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 82 cities are funded under 'Control of Pollution' scheme of MoEF&CC and remaining 48 Million-plus cities/Urban Agglomerations are funded under 15th Financial Commission (XV FC) air quality grants. An amount of Rs. 14,029.23 crore has been provided since FY 2019-20 till data, as a performance based incentive and critical gap funding to 130 cities across 24 States/UTs for implementing air  quality  improvement  measures under NCAP.  Cities have  reported  the  utilization  of  Rs. 10,611.52 crore (75.6%) on PRANA portal.

Under NCAP, City Specific Clean Air Action  Plans have been  prepared  and rolled out  for implementation in all 130 non-attainment/million plus cities. These action plans target specific air polluting sources like Soil & road dust, vehicular pollution, Waste and biomass burning, construction and demolition activities, and industries.

The focused and coordinated 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, 64 cities have shown reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20% with respect to base year 2017-18 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 .

PM2.5, being a subset of  PM10, is inherently  addressed under  NCAP through  the broader regulatory framework and implementation strategy aimed at reducing overall particulate matter levels. Out of the 130 cities covered under NCAP, 40 cities have shown a reduction in PM2.5 levels  in  2024  as  compared  to  2019;  56  cities  have  met  the  National Ambient Air  Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5 (annual standard: 40 μg/m³) in 2024.

(c): National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the nine Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims at protecting, restoring, and enhancing India's forest  cover  and  responding  to  Climate  Change  by  undertaking  eco-restoration/plantation activities in the forest and non-forest areas. GIM activities were started in the FY 2015-16. So far, a sum of Rs. 1019.27 crores have been sanctioned/allocated/released to seventeen States and one union territory for creation of plantation/eco-restoration over an area of 1,71,345 ha.

The  Compensatory Afforestation  Fund  (CAF) Act,  2016  and  its  Rules,  2018  aim  toward mitigating  the  loss  of  forest  cover  and  associated  ecosystem  services  resulting  from  the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. This is achieved through activities such as compensatory afforestation, restoration of degraded forests, enhancement of wildlife habitats, and biodiversity enrichment.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds are used for undertaking various activities for the betterment of forest related to improvement and enrichment of forests, wildlife and ecological services which include artificial regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related infrastructure development, Green India Programme, wildlife protection and other ancillary activities related to  forest  and  wildlife  management.  States/UT  CAMPA Authorities  submit Annual  Plan  of Operations (APOs) every year for approval to National CAMPA. During the year FY 2022-23 to 2024-25, Compensatory Afforestation (CA) has been carried out in the area of 84,067.88 Ha. The survival rate of afforestation activities is assessed by the respective State and UT Forest Departments.

(d): The Government  of  India  stands  committed  to  combat  climate  change  and  has  taken several measures to meet India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) first submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Paris Agreement in 2015 and subsequently updated in 2022.

These measures include various policies, schemes and programmes launched from time to time, to scale up India's action on both, the adaptation and mitigation fronts.

Appropriate  measures  are being  taken  for  promotion  of  clean  energy, especially  renewable energy, enhancement of energy efficiency, development of less carbon intensive and resilient urban centres, promotion of waste to wealth, safe, smart, and sustainable green transportation network,  creating  carbon  sink  through  enhanced  forest  and  tree  cover,  and  strengthening climate  resilience  in  agriculture,  water  resources,  coastal regions,  health,  and  disaster management. India's  climate  action  also  captures  citizens'  contributions  including  those through the activities under 'Mission LiFE' (Lifestyle for the Environment) and initiatives like 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Nam.'

The Government is implementing National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which is  the  overarching  framework  for  climate  actions. The  NAPCC comprises  of  nine  national missions  in  specific  areas  of  solar  energy,  enhanced  energy  efficiency,  water,  agriculture, Himalayan Ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India, human health, and strategic knowledge on climate change. The Government is also supporting States and Union Territories (UTs) for preparation of their respective State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), in line with the strategy outlined in the NAPCC. To support the objectives of NAPCC, 34 States and UTs have prepared their SAPCCs to address State specific actions.

As a result, emission intensity of India's gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced by 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020.  India has reached a major milestone in its energy transition by achieving the NDC goal of 50% of its installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources; five years ahead of the committed timeline of 2030. As compared to the base year of 2005, India has already reached 2.29 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink as against the target of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes by 2030.

India's climate action is mainly financed by budgetary allocations of the respective Ministries/ Departments that have institutionalized the respective nine Missions of the National Action plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

Multilateral funds like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF) are also explored  for  financing  climate  action  within  the  country.  So  far,  sixteen  (16)  projects/ programmes have been approved to India by the GCF with a total allocation of USD 1.1 billion to  mitigate  and  adapt  to  climate  change  in  sectors  including  water,  clean  energy,  coastal, livelihood,  transport,  medium  and  small  enterprises  and  climate  start-ups. The  country  has accessed resources from the Adaptation Fund. The projects amounted to a total of USD 16.86 million for sectors covering food security, forests, agriculture, water management, and coastal management.