Delhi, Noida, Jaipur Still Choking: Billions Spent Under NCAP Yet Air Quality Remains Poor
Delhi, Noida, Jaipur choke on pollution despite billions spent under NCAP.
Six years into India’s flagship National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, and Alwar remain among the country’s most polluted cities, highlighting a troubling gap between allocated funds and real-world impact. While ₹19,808 crore has been earmarked nationally, only around 17% of city-level allocations have been effectively utilised, with the majority spent on road dust control rather than comprehensive pollution management.
In Delhi, the city was approved ₹113 crore for FY 2020-21 to 2025-26 but could only access 54% of the funds, reflecting its inconsistent performance under NCAP criteria. Efforts such as smog guns, mechanised road sweeping, and green buffers have had limited effect because air quality planning still relies on outdated 2016–17 pollution data, leaving modern vehicle emissions, industrial activity, and construction dust largely unaddressed.
Noida’s experience exposes administrative delays and narrow spending priorities. Of ₹127 crore allocated, only ₹56 crore had been released and just ₹30 crore spent, almost entirely on dust control. Key contributors like traffic emissions, industrial clusters, and waste burning have been largely ignored, leaving PM10 levels more than double the legal limits despite a 32% reduction over seven years.
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Jaipur and Alwar show similar patterns. Nearly all NCAP funds in Jaipur are directed toward dust and construction control, while Alwar spends 95% of its budget on the same, despite vehicles and waste burning accounting for over a quarter of local pollution. Both cities continue to exceed India’s air-quality standards, underscoring the narrow focus of current interventions.
Recent inspections by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) during “Operation Clean Air” revealed ongoing biomass burning, municipal waste dumping, and high dust levels across 400 road stretches in Delhi and the NCR. Environmental experts warn that administrative delays, outdated data, and limited enforcement continue to undermine NCAP’s goals, leaving residents exposed to toxic air every winter.
Analysts argue that unless NCAP moves beyond short-term dust control, updates its scientific basis, and targets vehicles, industries, and waste burning, even billions in funding will fail to deliver clean air. The current spending model rewards quick fixes rather than systemic, long-term transformation, keeping India’s most polluted cities trapped under a thick winter smog.
Also Read: Brief Relief for Delhi as AQI Improves to ‘Poor’; GRAP-III Curbs Lifted
