A central panel monitoring the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has directed the municipal corporations of Delhi and Noida, which are lagging in pollution control fund utilisation, to take immediate corrective measures.
The decision was taken at the 18th meeting of the Implementation Committee (IC) under NCAP, held on August 21 and chaired by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairman, to review and oversee the programme’s implementation.
The committee said that “all implementing agencies must accelerate fund utilisation, ensuring that it is not below 75 per cent in any city”, according to the minutes of the meeting published recently.
Launched in 2019, NCAP is India’s first national initiative to set clean air targets, aiming for a 40 per cent reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, using 2019-20 as the base year.
Of the cities covered under NCAP, 82 receive direct funding from the Union environment ministry, while 48 cities and urban agglomerations with population
