Over Rs 1,600 cr central funds to combat pollution, stubble burning: RTI

The Centre has allocated more than Rs 1,600 crore under two schemes -- one of them to combat pollution in Delhi-NCR and the other to prevent stubble burning, according to an official response to an RTI query.

In order to prevent stubble burning, a new scheme -- 'Promotion of Agricultural Mechanisation for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi' is being implemented from 2018-19 to 2019-20, it stated.

"It (the scheme) is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare with the total release from the central funds of Rs 1,178.47 crore," the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFF) stated in the reply.

Also, it said the government had last year launched a separate programme 'Control of Pollution' with a total outlay of Rs 460.96 crore for 2019-20with objectives to provide assistance for abatement of pollution to state pollution control boards and committees and for implementation of the National Clean Air Programme as major components.

"Under this central sector scheme, Rs 77.74 crore have been released to states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi," the MoEFF stated in a response to the query made by Noida-based RTI activist Amit Gupta.

The MoEFF said it had launched a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January this year to tackle the problem of air pollution in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20 to 30 per cent reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024, keeping 2017 as base year.

"The plan includes 102 non-attainment cities, across 23 states and Union Territories, on the basis of their ambient air quality data between 2011 and 2015, which includes Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida of Delhi-NCR," the ministry stated in its response.

Among prominent measures to mitigate pollution, the MoEFF said a Comprehensive Air Plan (CAP) for Delhi-NCR has been developed identifying the timelines and implementing agencies for actions delineated.

The central government has also notified a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi and NCR for different levels of pollution, it said.

"Several measures have been undertaken for the abatement and control of air pollution during the winter months with priorities which include interalia strict enforcement of micro level action plans in identified hotspots, strict vigil on open dumping and construction activity, stringent actions against illegal industries, strict penal actions including challans on violators as per regulatory provisions, strict monitoring by CPCB of weekly action taken reports about regulatory actions, prosecutions, penalties imposed, swift redressal of complaints lodged on social media platforms," it said.

"Further, advisory has been issued to all state pollution control boards and pollution control committee of Delhi and NCR to use dust suppressant to control dust emission in Delhi-NCR," it added.

Delhi-NCR has been grappling with poor air quality since late October, with the level of pollution often dipping to dangerously low levels and affecting the health of people.

Central agencies and those empowered by the Supreme Court have time and again ordered ban on construction activities, dirty-fuel based industries in Delhi and its suburbs, firecrackers in a bid to check to pollution.