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Clean air project: 500 electric buses to be deployed in Ggm, F’bad under World Bank funded project
The project focuses on building a strong scientific foundation for air-quality management while driving practical, sector-wide action in transport, industry, agriculture and urban areas.
For initiating a transition to clean public transport systems, the Haryana government will deploy 500 electric buses for intra-city travel in Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonepat for intra-city travel under World Bank funded Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development (HCAPSD).
Chief executive officer (CEO) of a special purpose vehicle created for HCAPSD, J Ganesan said the Clean Air project covers sectors such as transport, industry and agriculture with a focus on reducing emissions, enhancing monitoring capabilities, and engaging citizens in pollution reduction efforts. The six-year initiative aimed at addressing growing air pollution promises to improve air quality by 2031, they said. The project focuses on building a strong scientific foundation for air-quality management while driving practical, sector-wide action in transport, industry, agriculture and urban areas.
Officials said that with a $300 million funding from the World Bank, HCAPSD is designed to implement a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to improving air quality and fostering long-term environmental sustainability. The project covers key sectors, including transport, industry, agriculture, and urban, with a focus on reducing emissions, enhancing monitoring capabilities, and engaging citizens in pollution reduction efforts.
The project will be rolled out under the governance of SPV - ARJUN (AI for resilient jobs, urban air quality, and next-gen skills), an institutional mechanism established by the state government to oversee externally aided projects.
The CEO of the SPV said that the projects will bring transition to clean public transport through procurement and phased deployment of 250 electric buses each in Gurugram and Faridabad with flexibility to extend to Sonepat. “It also included creation of a mobility plan, set up depots (five in Gurugram and four in Faridabad), 166 bus stops in each city, charging infra, a command-control centre and maintenance and contingency,’’ the CEO said.
The initiative, he said, also included phasing out old and unclean vehicle fleets through the implementation of automated testing stations for scrapping over-aged vehicles, establishment of 200 EV charging stations in national capital region supported by financial incentives for private agencies, incentives for the purchase and replacement of three-wheeler electric vehicles
Ganesan said that among the agricultural interventions, the state government has set a goal of zero stubble-burning by 2030 with large-scale deployment of crop residue management machinery like seeders, rotavators, mulchers). Besides there are plans to link straw to biomass plants for energy production, and strengthening value chains for paddy straw utilisation, field trials for the use of decomposers to improve air quality by reducing burning of agricultural waste and adoption of clean manure management practices in gaushalas to reduce livestock-related emissions.
‘Project aims to reduce industrial emissions’
The CEO said the project aimed at reducing industrial emissions, which contribute to about 5% of particulate matter in the state by providing financial support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to convert industrial boilers to cleaner fuels like piped natural gas and biomass to bring down industrial emission. Besides, the government will provide incentives for industries to retrofit and replace polluting DG sets with cleaner, dual-fuel options.
Officials said that for air quality monitoring and data-driven decision making, the SPV will establish a command and control centre to process data from various monitoring sources (CAAQM stations, mobile vans, satellite data), deploy 10 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations across NCR districts for real-time data collection, use satellite-based air quality monitoring for better forecasting and hotspot identification.
“For integrating remote sensing with ground monitoring, the government intends to partner with ISRO and other agencies to use high-resolution satellite data. The government will build a state-level database of satellite-based PM and greenhouse gas readings and integrate with CAAQMS and a decision support system for forecasting, hotspot identification, and planning,” said an official.
Ganesan said that representatives of Haryana government, department of economic affairs of Central government and the World Bank on November 4 concluded formal negotiations on the project’s operational, implementation, and governance arrangements. “The World Bank and Central government have confirmed that the project is ready for presentation to the World Bank’s board of executive directors,” he said.
