National Clean Air Programme: Jairam Ramesh Wants Urgent Revamp

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said on Friday, 6 November, that the National Clean Air Programme, which began nearly eight years ago, needs an urgent revamp as pollution in north India stays between “very poor” and “severe”. In a post on X, he cited an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), according to a report by ANI.

Three Steps CREA Suggests

Ramesh said the CREA analysis points to three steps: controlling emissions from industry, power generation and household sources; controlling directly emitted particulate matter; and dealing with the gases that form secondary PM2.5 in the air. He also called for an airshed-based approach, in which neighbouring cities and districts are treated as one pollution zone rather than city by city.

He said the National Ambient Air Quality Standards were last issued in November 2009. They were progressive then, he said, and now need updating, especially the safe limit for PM2.5. By his account, the national PM2.5 standard is four times the World Health Organization’s safety level.

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Baraut, Khora and Gajraula Top the List

Ramesh listed the three most polluted Indian cities by monthly average PM2.5 as Baraut in Baghpat district, Khora in Ghaziabad district and Gajraula in Amroha district, all in Uttar Pradesh. He said 13 cities in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Haryana, three in Gujarat and two each in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan exceed the national 24-hour PM2.5 standard.

Delhi Readings From the Morning

The ANI report put Delhi’s citywide AQI at 389, in the “very poor” band, at 8 AM on Friday, citing Central Pollution Control Board data. IIT Delhi and Rohini each read 474. Punjabi Bagh read 465, RK Puram 443, ITO 422, Firoz Shah Road 420 and India Gate 403; these were in the “severe” category. IPB’s earlier weather report on Delhi’s air quality and the forecast for 10 November carries the 24-hour picture, and the Delhi air pollution page collects earlier reports.

No Government Response Yet

The report did not mention any funding figures for the programme, and no official government reply to Ramesh’s post had been reported at the time of writing. The next 24-hour AQI bulletin from the Central Pollution Control Board will show whether the readings ease before the forecast western disturbance on 10 November.

Source: Based on reporting by ANI via WebIndia123 and Daily Prabhat.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.