Why is Faridabad choking? 60% of funds allocated to curb pollution unused

Time of India

16 hours ago

Gurgaon: Among India's most polluted cities, Faridabad has been part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for six years, yet it has seen little improvement in air quality and used up just 40% of funds meant to reduce pollution.
Of Rs 107 crore allocated to the city under NCAP since 2019, Rs 43.7 crore has been utilised, govt data shows.
Faridabad was the only city in Haryana to be tagged among 130 others across India as a 'non-attainment' city as it consistently failed to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
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Under NCAP, the cities were initially given the target to reduce particulate matter (PM10) concentration by 20-30% by 2024, using 2017 levels as the baseline.
The aim was later revised to reduce up to 40% of PM10 levels by 2025-26 or meet NAAQS's maximum permissible limit of 60µg/m³ (annual average) by then.
The city appears to be far from meeting either of the targets. Analysis of data shows that Faridabad by 2024 reduced its annual PM10 level by 17% only (2020-21 level was taken as baseline as the city did not have data before that).
Annual reading of PM10 data also indicates inconsistent progress.
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From FY21 to FY22, average concentrations of PM10 reduced slightly from 229 µg/m³ to 209 µg/m³, but the following year, it went up to 212µg/m³. The city logged a more sizeable improvement the years after, with average PM10 level at 190 µg/m³ in 2023-24, and 153 µg/m³in 2024-25.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) also found through a right-to-information (RTI) application that most of NCAP funds used in Faridabad were deployed for dust control measures such as paving roads and using mechanical sweeping machines and water sprinklers.
Less than 1% of Rs 43.7 crore was spent to curb industrial emissions, the think-tank said.
Asked about this focus on dust mitigation, a Faridabad corporation (MCF) official said on Monday that funds were allocated to traffic and vehicle management as most industries have been shifted out of NCR.
"Funds were utilised for prevention of parking in non-designated areas, setting up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs), and providing training and skill development for officials," he said.
Additionally, NCAP funds were used to implement a public awareness campaign on pollution sources, control measures and afforestation. "The aim is to create a cleaner, healthier environment for residents and to bring the city's air quality within the acceptable limits," the official said.
Experts told TOI that the measures taken in Faridabad were not enough to dramatically reduce pollution.
"In the case of Faridabad, mostly funds are being used for the use of sprinklers and mechanical road sweeping machines, widening roads, and black-topping to maintain pothole-free roads.
These are very minimal steps. More concrete moves need to be taken to show progress," said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at CSE.
Tiwari said it's challenging to independently assess the trend in PM10 concentration based on manual monitoring as data from the monitors was not available in the public domain.
Manoj Kumar, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), said underutilization of NCAP funds raises serious concerns.
"This limited utilisation must be assessed, not just in terms of expenditure, but in terms of actual air quality improvements achieved. The city continues to record PM levels well above NAAQS standards. Unless remaining funds are effectively used, Faridabad is likely to remain among the most polluted cities in NCR and the broader Indo-Gangetic plain," he said.