Delhi MCD Utilizes Only 30% of Central Funds for Pollution Mitigation Over Four Years: Minister

New Delhi, Dec 9 (NationPress) Only 30% of the Rs 42.69 crore allocated by the Central government for Delhi's clean air has been utilized by the key civic agency over the last four fiscal years, as stated in Parliament on Monday.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav disclosed in a written response during a Lok Sabha session that from 2019-20 to 2024-25, a total budget of Rs 42.69 crore has been sanctioned for Delhi, out of which Rs 13.56 crore (32%) has been spent on implementing the City Action Plan aimed at enhancing air quality.

The funds were allocated by the Central government to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi through the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Yadav noted in response to a query from Praveen Khandelwal of the BJP.

Delhi NCR comprises six non-attainment cities (NACs), with three cities—Delhi, Alwar, and Noida—receiving funding under the NCAP and the other three—Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Faridabad—funded through the Fifteenth Finance Commission, the minister explained.

The allocated funds are directed towards executing City Action Plans designed to improve air quality across all six identified cities.

From 2019-20 to 2024-25, a cumulative budget of Rs 476.04 crore has been designated for cities in the Delhi-NCR area, of which Rs 334.53 crore (70%) has been effectively utilized.

Minister Yadav stated that performance-based grants have been allocated to 130 NACs since FY 2021-22.

The amount of funds released is contingent upon the city's performance, as assessed by the quantification of air quality improvements.

City scores are evaluated annually by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and funding is withheld from cities scoring below 40.

A total of 18,976 units/projects have been inspected by 40 teams from the CPCB since December 2021, aiding the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and nearby regions (CAQM).

The teams were assigned to conduct undercover inspections of air-polluting industries, construction and demolition sites, and generator sets in Delhi-NCR to assess the implementation of pollution control measures and compliance with other regulations.

Regarding stubble burning, Yadav mentioned that the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare initiated a scheme in 2018 to provide subsidies for the purchase of crop residue management machinery and the establishment of custom hiring centres (CHCs) in the NCT of Delhi and the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh for in-situ management of paddy straw.

From 2018 to 2024-25 (up until November 15, 2024), a total of Rs 3,623.45 crore has been allocated (Punjab - Rs 1,681.45 crore, Haryana - Rs 1,081.71 crore, Uttar Pradesh - Rs 763.67 crore, NCT of Delhi - Rs 6.05 crore, and ICAR - Rs 83.35 crore).

The states have successfully distributed over 3 lakh machines to individual farmers and more than 40,000 CHCs across these four states.