Lok Sabha Question No. 1170 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-08
Subject: Air Quality Monitoring Stations
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

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

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1170 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025

## Air Quality Monitoring Stations

## 1170.   PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

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

- (a) the details of Air Quality Index (AQI) of National Capital Territory of Delhi since the last one month, city-wise;
- (b) whether the AQI of National Capital Region (NCR) of India are in a toxic level;
- (c) the details of steps taken by Central and State Governments to check such alarming situation;
- (d) whether the Government has announced National Clean Air Programme;
- (e) if  so,  the  list  of  the  cities  along  with  number  of  manual/continuous  air  quality monitoring stations currently installed and proposed to be installed under the said programme; and
- (f) the timeline for installing such manual/continuous air quality monitoring stations in various cities along with the budgetary allocations made in this regard, city-wise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  to  (f)  : The AQI levels of Delhi during the month of November, 2025, is enclosed at Annexure I.

With coordinated efforts, number of good days (AQI<200) in Delhi has increased to 200 days in 2025 from 110 days in 2016. While there is an overall improvement in the AQI this year, very poor days (AQI: 301-400) and severe days (AQI more than 401) have reduced from 71 days in 2024 to 50 days in 2025. Delhi has observed lowest average AQI in the past 8 years i.e., from 2018 to 2025 (barring 2020 - COVID lockdown).

To address air pollution in Delhi-NCR, Government has established the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems of air pollution in Delhi- NCR and adjoining areas. CAQM has been provided powers under the Act to take measures and issue directions to the various agencies in the National Capital Region for protecting and improving air quality. So far, CAQM has issued 95  statutory  Directions  and  17  Advisories  to  concerned  stakeholders  for  control  of  air pollution in Delhi NCR.

CAQM has come up with much stringent emission norms for various polluting activities in NCR, as compared to the national standards. These directions are rigorously monitored for implementation through periodic progress reviews, issuing subsequent orders and directions from time to time.

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been prepared, which provides set of emergency response  actions,  depending  on  severity  of  air  pollution  levels,  and  implemented  by identified agencies for minimizing air pollution, a situation that  generally  persists in  the Delhi-NCR during the peak winter months.

Based on the dynamic model and weather forecast provided by IMD (Indian Meteorological Department)  /  IITM  (Indian  Institute  of  Tropical  Meteorology)  on  a  day-to-day  basis, actions under Stages I, II, III and IV of the GRAP are invoked in advance in anticipation of the  AQI  of  Delhi  reaching  to  the  projected  levels  of  that  stage  based  on  the  overall meteorological conditions and anthropogenic activities.

CAQM has recently conducted comprehensive review of the contours of the existing GRAP and made the actions more stringent under the various stages of the GRAP. Details of recent amendments in GRAP are enclosed at Annexure II .

The  Government  has  regularly  reviewed  and  monitored  the  actions  taken  to  address  air pollution including stubble burning related issues in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas. Some of the recent key meetings are as below:

- i.  Regular  review  meetings  have  been  held  on  08.08.2025,  16.09.2025,  10.10.2025, 11.11.2025  and  03.12.2025  under  the  chairmanship  of  the  Hon'ble  Minister  for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, on the issues relating to air pollution control in Delhi-NCR, to deliberate upon the undertaking of air pollution abatement measures and strategies for further strengthening air quality management across the region;
- ii.  Minister  level  Inter-Ministerial  meeting  was  held  on  07.10.2025  under  the  Cochairmanship of Hon'ble Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Hon'ble Minister for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare on the issues of management of Crop Residue Burning.

In the aforesaid review meetings, it was agreed that Govt. of NCT Delhi to utilise the funds in expeditious manner to implement air pollution mitigation measures along with other important measures  such  as  awarding  work  for  evacuation  of  construction  dust  and  drainage  silt, organising 'Sewa Saptah' at all ward of Municipal Corporation of GNCTD and NCR States, implementation of FASTag and ANPR cameras at all tolls points for restriction of the entry of banned commercial vehicles, prepare integrated waste collection and management plan, identification  and  repair  of  stretches  with  potholes,  end-to-end  pavement  of  roads,  feeder centres for Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste processing facility, steps to improve the  offtake  of  recycled  products  from  C&D  waste,  monitoring  of  large  construction  sites, mechanised road sweeping for roads with 20-60 ft as well as roads <20 ft wide, decongestion of 62 identified traffic congestion points in Delhi, increasing the green cover along Yamuna flood plains, time bound action plan for plantation of 1 crore trees under 'Ek Ped Maa ke Naam', installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) and Air Pollution Control Devices (APCD) in all air polluting industries in a time bound manner.

National  Clean  Air  Programme  (NCAP)  has  been  launched  by  Ministry  of  Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019 to improve air quality in 130 cities (non-attainment cities and Million Plus Cities) in 24 States/UTs by engaging all stakeholders. Concerned State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees install Monitoring Stations to collect ambient air quality, in line with the criteria issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Details of air quality monitoring stations in the cities under NCAP, are enclosed at Annexure III .

## AQI levels in Delhi from 1 st  November, 2025 to 30 th  November, 2025

| Date             |   AQI |
|------------------|-------|
| 1 November 2025  |   303 |
| 2 November 2025  |   366 |
| 3 November 2025  |   309 |
| 4 November 2025  |   291 |
| 5 November 2025  |   202 |
| 6 November 2025  |   311 |
| 7 November 2025  |   322 |
| 8 November 2025  |   361 |
| 9 November 2025  |   370 |
| 10 November 2025 |   362 |
| 11 November 2025 |   428 |
| 12 November 2025 |   418 |
| 13 November 2025 |   404 |
| 14 November 2025 |   387 |
| 15 November 2025 |   386 |
| 16 November 2025 |   377 |
| 17 November 2025 |   351 |
| 18 November 2025 |   374 |
| 19 November 2025 |   392 |
| 20 November 2025 |   391 |
| 21 November 2025 |   364 |
| 22 November 2025 |   370 |
| 23 November 2025 |   391 |
| 24 November 2025 |   382 |
| 25 November 2025 |   353 |
| 26 November 2025 |   327 |
| 27 November 2025 |   377 |
| 28 November 2025 |   369 |
| 29 November 2025 |   305 |
| 30 November 2025 |   279 |

Annexure I

## Details of amendments made to Graded Response Plan (GRAP) by CAQM on 21.11.2025

The Commission has issued the following amendments in the schedule of GRAP:

## A. The following measures currently under GRAP Stage II to be taken under GRAP Stage I:

- (1).   Ensure uninterrupted power supply to discourage use of alternate power Generating sets/ equipment (DG sets etc.)
- (2). Synchronize  traffic  movements  and  deploy  adequate  personnel  at  intersections  /  traffic congestion points for smooth flow of traffic.
- (3). Alert in newspapers / TV / radio to advise people about air pollution levels and Do's and Don'ts for minimizing polluting activities
- (4). Augment public  transport  services  through  CNG/  electric  buses  and  metro  services  by inducting additional fleet and increasing the frequency of service. Introduce differential rates to encourage off - peak travel.

## B. The following measures currently under GRAP Stage III to be taken under GRAP Stage II:

- (1). (i) GNCTD and NCR State Governments to stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.
- (ii) State  Governments  may  take  a  decision  to  stagger  timings  for  public  offices  and municipal bodies in other areas of NCR.
- (2). Central Government may take a decision on staggering of timings of Central Government offices in Delhi - NCR.

## C. The following measures currently under GRAP Stage IV to be taken under GRAP Stage III:

- (1). NCR State Governments / GNCTD to take a decision on allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home.
- (2). Central Government may take appropriate decision on permitting work from home for employees in central government offices.

Annexure-III Details of ambient air quality monitoring stations in 130 cities of NCAP

| Sr.   |                  |                     | Number of Stations   | Number of Stations   | Number of Stations   |
|-------|------------------|---------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
| no.   | State            | City                | Continuous (CAAQMS)  | Manual               | Total                |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh   | Anantapur           | 1                    | 4                    | 5                    |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh   | Chitoor             | 1                    | 5                    | 6                    |
| 3     | Andhra Pradesh   | Eluru               | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 4     | Andhra Pradesh   | Guntur              | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 5     | Andhra Pradesh   | Kadapa              | 1                    | 5                    | 6                    |
| 6     | Andhra Pradesh   | Kurnool             | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 7     | Andhra Pradesh   | Nellore             | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 8     | Andhra Pradesh   | Ongole              | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 9     | Andhra Pradesh   | Rajahmundry         | 1                    | 4                    | 5                    |
| 10    | Andhra Pradesh   | Srikakulam          | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 11    | Andhra Pradesh   | Vijayawada UA       | 5                    | 9                    | 14                   |
| 12    | Andhra Pradesh   | Visakhapatnam UA    | 1                    | 9                    | 10                   |
| 13    | Andhra Pradesh   | Vizianagaram        | 0                    | 4                    | 4                    |
| 14    | Assam            | Guwahati            | 4                    | 8                    | 12                   |
| 15    | Assam            | Nagaon              | 1                    | 3                    | 4                    |
| 16    | Assam            | Nalbari             | 1                    | 3                    | 4                    |
| 17    | Assam            | Sibsagar            | 0                    | 0                    | 0                    |
| 18    | Assam            | Silchar             | 1                    | 3                    | 4                    |
| 19    | Bihar            | Gaya                | 3                    | 1                    | 4                    |
| 20    | Bihar            | Muzaffarpur         | 3                    | 1                    | 4                    |
| 21    | Bihar            | Patna UA            | 6                    | 2                    | 8                    |
| 22    | Chandigarh       | Chandigarh          | 3                    | 5                    | 8                    |
| 23    | Chhattisgarh     | Durg Bhilainagar UA | 3                    | 4                    | 7                    |
| 24    | Chhattisgarh     | Korba               | 2                    | 3                    | 5                    |
| 25    | Chhattisgarh     | Raipur UA           | 4                    | 6                    | 10                   |
| 26    | Delhi            | Delhi               | 39                   | 7                    | 46                   |
| 27    | Gujarat          | Ahmedabad UA        | 9                    | 9                    | 18                   |
| 28    | Gujarat          | Rajkot UA           | 0                    | 3                    | 3                    |
| 29    | Gujarat          | Surat UA            | 1                    | 3                    | 4                    |
| 30    | Gujarat          | Vadodara UA         | 0                    | 3                    | 3                    |
| 31    | Haryana          | Faridabad UA        | 4                    | 2                    | 6                    |
| 32    | Himachal Pradesh | Baddi               | 1                    | 3                    | 4                    |
| 33    | Himachal Pradesh | Damtal              | 0                    | 2                    | 2                    |
| 34    | Himachal Pradesh | Kala Amb            | 0                    | 2                    | 2                    |
| 35    | Himachal Pradesh | Nalagarh            | 0                    | 1                    | 1                    |
| 36    | Himachal Pradesh | Paonta Sahib        | 0                    | 2                    | 2                    |
| 37    | Himachal Pradesh | Parwanoo            | 0                    | 2                    | 2                    |
| 38    | Himachal Pradesh | Sunder Nagar        | 0                    | 2                    | 2                    |
| 39    | Jammu &Kashmir   | Jammu               | 0                    | 6                    | 6                    |
| 40    | Jammu &Kashmir   | Srinagar            | 1                    | 4                    | 5                    |

|   41 | Jharkhand      | Dhanbad UA             |   2 |   3 |   5 |
|------|----------------|------------------------|-----|-----|-----|
|   42 | Jharkhand      | Jamshedpur UA          |   0 |   2 |   2 |
|   43 | Jharkhand      | Ranchi UA              |   0 |   1 |   1 |
|   44 | Karnataka      | Bruhat Bangalore UA    |  14 |   9 |  23 |
|   45 | Karnataka      | Devanagere             |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   46 | Karnataka      | Gulburga               |   2 |   1 |   3 |
|   47 | Karnataka      | Hubli-Dharwad          |   3 |   2 |   5 |
|   48 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal UA              |   3 |   8 |  11 |
|   49 | Madhya Pradesh | Dewas                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   50 | Madhya Pradesh | Gwalior UA             |   4 |   3 |   7 |
|   51 | Madhya Pradesh | Indore UA              |   6 |   3 |   9 |
|   52 | Madhya Pradesh | Jabalpur UA            |   4 |   2 |   6 |
|   53 | Madhya Pradesh | Sagar                  |   2 |   2 |   4 |
|   54 | Madhya Pradesh | Ujjain                 |   1 |   4 |   5 |
|   55 | Maharashtra    | Akola                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   56 | Maharashtra    | Amravati               |   2 |   3 |   5 |
|   57 | Maharashtra    | Aurangabad UA          |   3 |   4 |   7 |
|   58 | Maharashtra    | Chandrapur             |   2 |   6 |   8 |
|   59 | Maharashtra    | Jalgaon                |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   60 | Maharashtra    | Jalna                  |   1 |   2 |   3 |
|   61 | Maharashtra    | Kolhapur               |   2 |   3 |   5 |
|   62 | Maharashtra    | Latur                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   63 | Maharashtra    | Greater Mumbai (GM) UA |  30 |   0 |  30 |
|   64 | Maharashtra    | BadlapurGMUA           |   1 |   1 |   2 |
|   65 | Maharashtra    | Navi MumbaiGMUA        |   8 |   6 |  14 |
|   66 | Maharashtra    | ThaneGMUA              |   2 |   3 |   5 |
|   67 | Maharashtra    | UlhasnagarGMUA         |   1 |   2 |   3 |
|   68 | Maharashtra    | Nagpur UA              |   4 |   4 |   8 |
|   69 | Maharashtra    | Nashik UA              |   4 |   4 |   8 |
|   70 | Maharashtra    | Pune UA                |  13 |   3 |  16 |
|   71 | Maharashtra    | Sangli                 |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   72 | Maharashtra    | Solapur                |   3 |   2 |   5 |
|   73 | Maharashtra    | Vasai-Virar City UA    |   1 |   0 |   1 |
|   74 | Meghalaya      | Byrnihat               |   1 |   1 |   2 |
|   75 | Nagaland       | Dimapur                |   0 |   7 |   7 |
|   76 | Nagaland       | Kohima                 |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   77 | Odisha         | Angul                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   78 | Odisha         | Balasore               |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   79 | Odisha         | Bhubaneswar            |   2 |   6 |   8 |
|   80 | Odisha         | Cuttack                |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   81 | Odisha         | Kalinga Nagar          |   0 |   3 |   3 |
|   82 | Odisha         | Rourkela               |   3 |   4 |   7 |
|   83 | Odisha         | Talcher                |   1 |   3 |   4 |
|   84 | Punjab         | Amritsar UA            |   1 |   2 |   3 |
|   85 | Punjab         | Dera Bassi             |   0 |   2 |   2 |
|   86 | Punjab         | Gobindgarh             |   0 |   0 |   0 |

| 87    | Punjab        | Jalandhar                 |   1 |   4 |   5 |
|-------|---------------|---------------------------|-----|-----|-----|
| 88    | Punjab        | Khanna                    |   1 |   2 |   3 |
| 89    | Punjab        | Ludhiana UA               |   1 |   4 |   5 |
| 90    | Punjab        | Naya Nangal               |   0 |   2 |   2 |
| 91    | Punjab        | Pathankot/Dera Baba Nanak |   0 |   2 |   2 |
| 92    | Punjab        | Patiala                   |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 93    | Rajasthan     | Alwar                     |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 94    | Rajasthan     | Jaipur UA                 |   6 |   9 |  15 |
| 95    | Rajasthan     | Jodhpur UA                |   5 |   9 |  14 |
| 96    | Rajasthan     | Kota UA                   |   3 |   6 |   9 |
| 97    | Rajasthan     | Udaipur                   |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 98    | Tamilnadu     | Chennai UA                |   9 |   8 |  17 |
| 99    | Tamilnadu     | Madurai UA                |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 100   | Tamilnadu     | Tuticorn/Thoothukudi      |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 101   | Tamilnadu     | Trichy UA                 |   1 |   5 |   6 |
| 102   | Telangana     | Hyderabad (HY) UA         |  14 |   7 |  21 |
| 103   | Telangana     | Nalgonda                  |   0 |   2 |   2 |
| 104   | Telangana     | Sangareddy                |   0 |   3 |   3 |
| 105   | Uttar Pradesh | Agra UA                   |   6 |   6 |  12 |
| 106   | Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad UA              |   3 |   5 |   8 |
| 107   | Uttar Pradesh | Anpara                    |   0 |   2 |   2 |
| 108   | Uttar Pradesh | Bareily                   |   2 |   2 |   4 |
| 109   | Uttar Pradesh | Firozabad                 |   2 |   3 |   5 |
| 110   | Uttar Pradesh | Gajraula                  |   0 |   2 |   2 |
| 111   | Uttar Pradesh | Ghaziabad UA              |   4 |   4 |   8 |
| 112   | Uttar Pradesh | Gorakhpur                 |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 113   | Uttar Pradesh | Jhansi                    |   1 |   2 |   3 |
| 114   | Uttar Pradesh | Kanpur UA                 |   4 |   9 |  13 |
| 115   | Uttar Pradesh | Khurja                    |   1 |   2 |   3 |
| 116   | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow UA                |   7 |   8 |  15 |
| 117   | Uttar Pradesh | Meerut UA                 |   3 |   2 |   5 |
| 118   | Uttar Pradesh | Moradabad                 |   7 |   2 |   9 |
| 119   | Uttar Pradesh | Noida                     |   4 |   4 |   8 |
| 120   | Uttar Pradesh | Raebareli                 |   0 |   3 |   3 |
| 121   | Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi UA               |   4 |   5 |   9 |
| 122   | Uttarakhand   | Dehradun                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 123   | Uttarakhand   | Kashipur                  |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 124   | Uttarakhand   | Rishikesh                 |   1 |   3 |   4 |
| 125   | West Bengal   | Asansol UA                |   4 |   5 |   9 |
| 126   | West Bengal   | Durgapur                  |   3 |   4 |   7 |
| 127   | West Bengal   | Haldia                    |   1 |   4 |   5 |
| 128   | West Bengal   | Barrackpore (K) UA        |   1 |   5 |   6 |
| 129   | West Bengal   | Howrah (K) UA             |   5 |   5 |  10 |
| 130   | West Bengal   | Kolkata (K) UA            |   7 |  18 |  25 |
| Total | Total         | Total                     | 351 | 487 | 838 |