National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is a plan announced by the Government of India to reduce particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20-30% in at least 102 cities by 2024. NCAP envisages to provide a framework to both the State and Central governments to fight air pollution. An amount of amount of Rs. 300 crore has been set aside for this project.
NCAP is is collaborative project consisting of eminent persons from industry and academia. Apart from the state governments, NITI Aayog and Central Pollution Control Board, following central ministries also will key roles in achieving the objectives of National Clean Air Programme.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas,
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,
Ministry of Heavy Industry,
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,
Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health
Objectives of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
Particulate matter of diameter 10 micrometer or less (PM10) and particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micrometer or less (PM2.5) are termed coarse and fine particles respectively. National Clean Air Programme envisages to bring down the concentration of coarse and fine particles by at least 20% in the next five years. This pollution control initiative is mooted by the Ministry of Environment. For comparison purpose of reduction, year 2017 will be considered as the base year.
Cities that comes under National Clean Air Programme
102 cities from 23 states and Union Territories have been targeted under NCAP. These cities have been selected as non-attainment cities. The identification of cities was carried out based on the reports by WHO and the air quality data gathered from these cities. Most of the cities identified are tier two cities with the exception of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.
No cities from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram , Kerala, Goa, Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura, and Haryana are included in the list. Maharashtra with 17 cities and Uttar Pradesh with 15 cities contribute maximum cities to the list. Major cities like Pune, Nagpur, Lucknow and Varanasi from these two states have been identified as having poor air quality.
Drawbacks of NCAP
NCAP in the present form does not mention any specific target to the cities. NACP lacks authority to take legal action against non- implementation. The amount allotted is also reported to be less compared to the task. Even then, National Clean Air Programme has to be seen as a right step in the right direction.