Lok Sabha Question No. 13 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-01
Subject: Impact of Air Pollution
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Dr. Kirsan Namdeo

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 13

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.12.2025

## Impact of Air Pollution

## *13. DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the alarming levels of air pollution in UT of Delhi and its adverse impact on public health, particularly during the winter months;
- (b) whether the Delhi Government has adequately utilized funds and resources provided by the Central Government for pollution control measures and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, the reasons for underutilization of fund and whether any accountability measures have been initiated and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether lack of effective and sustainable policies by the said Government has contributed to  the  worsening  air  quality,  if  so,  the  corrective  measures  taken  by  the  Central Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

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

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARAS (a) to (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  13  DUE  FOR  REPLY  ON  01.12.2025  REGARDING IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION BY DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.

(a) to (d): 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. Commission 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.

The  Commission  has  addressed  the  issue  of  air  pollution  in  Delhi-NCR  in  a  collective, collaborative and participative mode involving all the major stakeholders. The Commission has so  far  issued  95  Statutory  Directions  to  specifically  guide  and  direct  various  actions  towards abatement of air pollution in the region. A monitoring mechanism to oversee the implementation of these directions has been put in place.

Commission 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.

Commission  has  prepared  Graded  Response  Action  Plan  (GRAP)  which  provides  set  of emergency response actions, depending on severity of air pollution levels, to be implemented by identified agencies for minimizing air pollution, a situation that generally persists in the DelhiNCR 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.

The Commission 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 I .

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  and 11.11.2025 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 review meeting, the following was directed. 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.

NCT of Delhi has been provided a critical gap funding under National Clean Air Program (NCAP) to take measures to improve air quality. To implement air pollution mitigation measures, NCAP also leverages the mobilisation of resources through convergence of Central Government schemes and programmes, such as, AMRUT 1.0 & 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 1.0 & 2.0, FAME II and Grand Challenge Scheme.

Government of NCT Delhi has reported that they have started implementation of various activities to utilise the funds for procurement of 14 Mechanical Road Sweeping (MRS), end- to-end paving and  pothole-free  maintenance  of  roads  and  greening  of  traffic  corridors,  open  areas,  gardens, community places, schools, and housing societies covering 2.6 ha which are at  various  stages. Further, New  Delhi  Municipal  Council  (NDMC)  has informed that they have  initiated procurement of four anti-smog guns on BS-VI CNG and seven modified anti-smog water guns for high-rise buildings and road improvement works.

A  centralised  air  quality  portal  and  mobile  app-SAMEER  are  functional  for  tracking  and dissemination of near real time air quality data and hourly Air Quality Index to the public. CPCB issues a  daily bulletin at  04:00 PM comprising AQI of various cities in the  country including Delhi-NCR. SAMEER app also serves as a grievance reddressal mechanism which allows the citizens to report pollution related complaints for quick resolution by the concerned agencies.

PRANA-  'Portal  for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities' has been operationalised  for  managing  and  monitoring  the  progress  of  implementation  of  activities implemented by 130 targeted cities under NCAP.

With coordinated efforts, number of good days (AQI<200) in Delhi have 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).

## 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:
2. (1). Ensure  uninterrupted  power  supply  to  discourage  use  of  alternate  power  Generating  sets/ equipment (DG sets etc.)
3. (2). Synchronize  traffic  movements  and  deploy  adequate  personnel  at  intersections  /  traffic congestion points for smooth flow of traffic.
4. (3). Alert in newspapers / TV / radio to advise people about air pollution levels and Do's and Don'ts for minimizing polluting activities
5. (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:
7. (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.
8. (ii) State Governments may take a decision to stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies in other areas of NCR.
9. (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:
11. (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.
12. (2). Central Government may take appropriate decision on permitting work from home for employees in central government offices.

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