NCAP Analysis: 90% of Indian Cities Miss Clean Air Targets Despite ₹12,000 Crore Spend
A scathing new assessment of India’s seven-year-old National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has brought to light a significant disconnect between financial investment and tangible environmental results. Despite the expenditure of over ₹12,000 crore—nearly 72% of the total ₹16,824 crore allocated—the vast majority of cities covered under the scheme have failed to reach critical pollution reduction milestones.
Launched in 2019, the NCAP was designed to tackle toxic air in 130 “non-attainment” cities—urban centers that consistently failed to meet national air quality standards over a five-year period. While the program initially aimed for a 20–30% reduction in PM10 levels by 2024–25, the target was subsequently tightened to a 40% reduction or adherence to the national safety standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) by 2025–26.
However, data analyzed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) paints a bleak picture: only 21 of the 130 cities have successfully achieved the 40% reduction mark. Worse still, 117 cities—a staggering 90% of the total—remain in violation of India’s annual national standard for PM10.
Major Urban Centers See Pollution Spike
Perhaps the most concerning finding of the report is that in 23 cities, pollution levels have actually risen since the baseline year of 2017–18, despite heavy utilization of NCAP funds.
Among these are some of India’s largest metropolitan hubs. Chennai, for instance, utilized ₹449 crore of NCAP funding, yet recorded a 9.1% increase in PM10 concentrations compared to 2017–18. Similarly, Jaipur spent ₹353 crore while seeing its pollution levels climb by 14.5% compared to 2019–20, and Bengaluru saw a 6.8% increase despite deploying ₹313 crore. Pune also appeared on the list of underperformers, reporting a 24.7% rise in particulate matter despite utilizing nearly ₹289 crore.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has not yet issued a formal response regarding these findings, which were compiled using data from the Central Pollution Control Board and the government’s own PRANA portal.
The Need for an “Airshed” Approach
Manoj Kumar, the lead analyst at CREA behind the assessment, suggests that the current model of treating cities as isolated units is fundamentally flawed. Because pollution does not respect administrative boundaries, individual city-level plans are often insufficient to combat regional smog.
“The next phase of NCAP should expand its scope and adopt state-level, regional, and airshed-based plans that address shared pollution sources across administrative borders,” Kumar said.
Experts are also calling for a paradigm shift in how the program measures success. While the current framework emphasizes PM10, analysts argue that the program must set explicit, enforceable targets for both PM2.5—which is often more hazardous to human health—and gaseous emissions that facilitate the formation of secondary particulates.
As the NCAP enters its next phase, the report serves as a stark reminder that monetary investment alone is not a panacea for India’s air quality crisis. Without structural changes in policy, a focus on regional cooperation, and stricter accountability for pollution sources like thermal power plants and industrial clusters, the goal of “clean air for all” remains a distant horizon.
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