₹28 crore of MCD air pollution control funds unused

The RTI showed that a CPCB inspection from June this year found that MCD had not held regular meetings of its district and city level monitoring implementation committees.

A Right to Information (RTI) reply from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has shown that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) did not utilise ₹28.77 crore of its air pollution control funds provided under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) during the last two financial years.

The RTI flagged delays in uploading city-level progress reports on the Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment cities. (HT photo)

At the start of 2023-24 financial year, MCD had ₹26.6 crore of the fund left over from the previous year, and was given an additional grant of ₹8.93 crore, which meant it had over ₹35 crore to tackle air pollution. However, the RTI reply shows that only ₹5.19 crore was utilised during the period, leaving ₹30.11 crore unused by the end of March 2024.

The utilisation of funds dropped further in the 2024-25 financial year. The corporation did not get another grant but earned an interest of ₹75 lakh, meaning the total air pollution control funds available to it were ₹30.86 crore. However, it only spent ₹1.34 crore, leaving ₹29.5 crore – over 95% of the fund – unused.

The RTI, filed by activist Amit Gupta, also showed that a CPCB inspection from June this year found that MCD had not held regular meetings of its district and city level monitoring implementation committees, and flagged delays in uploading city-level progress reports on the Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in Non-Attainment cities, which monitors the implementation of the NCAP.