After spending ₹12,000 crore, only 21 out of 130 cities meet clean air target

An analysis of seven years of India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has revealed around 72% or over ₹12,000 crores out of the ₹16,824 crores has been spent by states, but only 21 out of the 130 cities under the plan have so far managed to bring down PM 10 levels by 40% by 2025-26 — the latest target set under the plan. The analysis, carried out by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, found at the same time, 117 out of the 130 cities are still failing to meet the national annual PM 10 standards of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³).

The NCAP was launched in 2019, with an aim to improve air quality across 130 non-attainment cities (those failing to meet national standards over a five-year period) across the country. While initial target was to reduce PM10 pollution by 20-30% by 2024-25, compared with 2017-18 levels, this target was later revised to achieve up to a 40% reduction in PM10 pollution, or meet the national standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), by 2025-26.

The assessment looked at Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data and the Centre’s PRANA portal, finding across the 130 NCAP cities, ₹16,824 crore was released and ₹12,087 crore has been utilised by the cities so far – representing approximately 72% of the total funds. The analysis further showed that at the end of NCAP’s extended implementation period, 117 of the 130 cities assessed, or 90%, had annual PM10 concentrations above India’s national standard of 60 µg/m³.

The PRANA portal is a digital platform launched to monitor the implementation of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

“Compared with the 2017-18 baseline, 21 of the 130 cities recorded a PM10 reduction of more than 40% by 2025-26, while 44 recorded reductions of more than 30%,” the analysis has found.

Compared with 2017-18, overall, 17 cities recorded PM10 reductions between 0-10%, 22 recorded reductions between 10-20%, 22 recorded reductions of between 20-30%, 23 recorded reductions between 30-40%, and 21 recorded reductions of more than 40%.

At the same time, PM10 levels remained unchanged in two cities and increased in 23. The cities, despite spending NCAP funds, but showing an increase in pollution levels, included Jaipur, Chennai and Bengaluru.

“Chennai recorded the highest fund utilisation among cities where pollution increased, at ₹449 crore. Its PM10 concentration was 9.1% higher in 2025-26 than in 2017-18 and 20% higher than in 2019-20. Jaipur utilised ₹353 crore, while PM10 increased by 14.5% compared with 2019-20. Bengaluru utilised ₹313 crore and recorded a 6.8% increase, while Pune utilised ₹289 crore despite a 24.7% rise,” the analysis points out.

The ministry of environment, forest and climate change did not comment on the assessment.

Manoj Kumar, analyst at CREA, who led the assessment, said the next phase of NCAP should now expand coverage and adopt state-level, regional and airshed-based plans that address shared pollution sources across administrative boundaries, rather than relying primarily on individual city plans.

“NCAP should establish measurable emission-reduction targets for major sources, including industries, thermal power plants, transport, residential fuel use and other combustion sources. While the programme’s initial framework referred to both PM10 and PM2.5, its revised reduction target focused on PM10. The next phase must set explicit targets for both pollutants and address gaseous emissions that contribute to secondary particulate formation,” he added.