75% pollution control fund utilisation mandatory to access 2025-26 allocation under NCAP

The environment ministry has made it mandatory for cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to utilize at least 75 per cent of the funds disbursed so far in order to access allocations for the financial year 2025-26. At a meeting held on August 29, the monitoring committee overseeing the programme's implementation noted that of the total Rs 13,236.80 crore disbursed to 130 cities under NCAP, Rs 769.83 crore (74 per cent) has been utilized. Launched in 2019, NCAP is India's first national initiative to set clean air targets, aiming for a 40 per cent reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, using 2019–20 as the base year. Of the cities covered under NCAP, 82 receive direct funding from the Union environment ministry, while 48 cities and urban agglomerations with populations exceeding one million are funded through the 15th Finance Commission.

According to government data, 65 cities have utilized more than 50 per cent but less than 75 per cent of the funds received. Thirteen cities have spent more than 25 per cent but less than 50 per cent of the allocated funds. Delhi has utilized only Rs 14.10 crore (around 20 per cent) of the Rs 71.69 crore received from the environment ministry so far. The national capital also receives funding through the 15th Finance Commission. Noida in Uttar Pradesh has used just Rs 7.07 crore (around 13 per cent) of the Rs 55.70 crore received so far. Cities with poor pollution control fund utilization record include Jalandhar in Punjab, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, Gaya in Bihar and Gulbarga in Karnataka.