Air pollution body sets ‘modest’ PM 2.5, PM 10 targets

NEW DELHI: Air pollution activists and experts are unhappy with the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by Union environment minister Harsh Vardhan Thursday as it is not legally binding for states to meet the targets and the plan lacks ambition.

The NCAP aims to reduce the concentration of PM 2.5 (fine pollution particles) and PM 10 (coarse particles) in 102 non-attainment cities (those that didn’t meet the annual PM 10 national standard from 2011 to 2015) by 20%-30% by 2024 over 2017 annual average levels but will have a participatory and collaborative approach. The ministry’s media statement added that this target is tentative.

“This is a scheme and not a legal document. The Central Pollution Control Board already has legal mechanisms to control air pollution,” said CK Mishra, secretary, environment ministry.

Launching the programme, the environment minister said that it was the duty of every state government to work for the welfare of people, and city-specific programmes have been evolved carefully in consultation with experts and state governments.

The reason for a modest target, officials say, was an assessment of global experience, which shows that it has taken some cities decades to bring down air pollution levels.

Anup Bandivadekar, programme director (passenger vehicles) at Us-based International Council for Clean Transportation, which has conducted research on vehicular emissions in India, said, “It is not a surprise that the plan... falls short of the ambition necessary to address air pollution in India. NCAP framework should help establish similar targets at state and city levels, and include a thrust on compliance with the national as well as state and city level regulations on emissions, supported by necessary enforcement actions.”

Sunil Dahiya, senior campaigner, Greenpeace India, said he hoped that the NCAP would be much stronger in providing sector wise targets, specific targets for cities and mentioned strong legal backing to take action against non implementation.

However, Santosh Harish, fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, tweeted saying that the NCAP seems like a plan to formulate action plans. “Yet another wish-list with no effort at prioritizing actions. Underwhelming.”