Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday, 13 July 2026, chaired the second board meeting of Arjun SPV (AI for Resilient Jobs, Urban Air Quality and Next Generation Skills) in Chandigarh, directing officials to accelerate clean air, green transport and sustainable development initiatives under the state's annual action plan for 2026-27.

Context

At the meeting, CM Saini reviewed the annual work plan under the Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development (HCAPSD) and issued directions for the effective use of modern technologies to promote clean air and green mobility. He called on officials to ensure time-bound execution of every project, stating — 'Hamara sankalp hai ki pratyek pariyojana ka samayabaddh kriyanvayan sunishchit karte hue swachh, harit aur bhavishy ke liye taiyar Haryana ka nirman kiya jae' — ('Our resolve is to build a clean, green and future-ready Haryana by ensuring time-bound implementation of every project.')

The meeting covered a range of operational directives spanning vehicle scrapping, electric vehicle infrastructure, air quality monitoring and stubble management — areas that have been central to Haryana's environmental agenda in recent years.

Policy Backdrop

The Arjun SPV and HCAPSD sit within a broader national framework: the National Clean Air Programme, launched in 2019, set city-specific targets to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 particulate levels across 131 Indian cities, including several in Haryana. The Commission for Air Quality Management, established in 2020, further coordinates stubble burning and pollution control across the NCR region, of which Haryana is a key contributor.

Haryana's own Electric Vehicle Policy (2022) laid the groundwork for expanding charging networks and incentivising green transport, complementing central programmes such as the FAME scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles). BS-VI emission norms, implemented nationwide from 2020, have also shaped the state's approach to vehicular pollution.

Stakeholders and Impact

CM Saini directed officials to develop a dedicated online portal for the registration and scientific disposal of scrap vehicles — a step aimed at formalising the vehicle end-of-life process and reducing polluting older vehicles from state roads. He also ordered faster rollout of electric vehicle charging stations across the state and set firm timelines for electric bus services, AI-based air quality monitoring systems and stubble management programmes.

Urban residents in cities such as Gurugram, Faridabad and Hisar — which regularly record poor air quality indices during winter months — stand to benefit most from these measures. Transport operators and farmers engaged in paddy cultivation, whose stubble burning has historically spiked pollution in the Indo-Gangetic plain, are also key stakeholders in the programme's success.

What's Next

The immediate milestones to watch include the launch of the dedicated scrap vehicle portal, the pace of EV charging station installations and the commissioning of AI-based monitoring infrastructure under the 2026-27 HCAPSD plan. Any state budget allocations or procurement tenders related to electric bus fleet expansion will serve as early indicators of follow-through on the directives issued at this board meeting.

With the Delhi-NCR pollution season typically intensifying from October onwards, the pace of implementation over the next three to four months will be a critical test of whether Haryana's clean air commitments translate into measurable improvements in air quality before the onset of winter.