Ludhiana among top 10 polluted cities in the country: Centre reply in Rajya Sabha

The list, which ranks 131 cities based on their average PM 10 concentration recorded in FY 2023-24, places Ludhiana at number ten, with an average PM 10 level of 161 µg/m³.

The capital city, Delhi, tops the list with an average PM 10 level of 208 µg/m³, followed by Faridabad (190 µg/m³), Noida (182), Patna (178), Ghaziabad (172), Muzaffarpur (168), Angul (167), Gajraula (167), and Anpara (166).

Among the 131 cities selected for the air quality improvement programme, other Punjab cities listed among the 50 most polluted include Mandi Gobindgarh with average PM 10 levels at 126 µg/m³, Amritsar with 119 µg/m³ and Jalandhar 111 µg/m³.

The ministry clarified that “there is no worldwide ranking of cities for pollution levels due to variations in monitoring methods and environmental conditions.”

Addressing measures to improve air quality in these highly polluted cities, the Centre’s reply further stated: “The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January 2019, a long-term, time-bound national strategy for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution. Under NCAP, it has been envisaged to achieve targets of 20 to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations by 2024 in 131 cities with respect to the base year 2017. Subsequently, the target has been revised to achieve up to a 40% reduction or meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in terms of PM concentrations by 2025-26.”

“Cities are provided with funds to support the implementation of City Action Plans to improve air quality. All 131 cities/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have prepared City Action Plans under NCAP. An amount of Rs. 19,614 crores has been earmarked for 131 cities during the period FY 2019-20 to FY 2025-26. Of this, 49 Million Plus Cities/Urban Agglomerations are funded under the XVth Finance Commission air quality grant, and the remaining 82 cities are funded by MoEF&CC under the Control of Pollution Scheme.

So far, Rs 11,211 crores have been released to 131 cities to implement their City Action Plans. Additionally, 95 cities out of 131 have shown improvement in air quality in terms of annual PM 10 concentrations in FY 2023-24 compared
to the baseline of FY 2017-18,” stated Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh.

Top 10 polluted cities in the country