As Delhi suffocates, RTI reveals Municipal Corporation of Delhi sat on funds worth ₹29 crore on clean air programme

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has left more than ₹28.77 crore of its National Clean Air Programme funds unspent over 2 years, as per an RTI reply.

As Delhi continues to suffocate on hazardous air, a new revelation has come via an RTI reply. It revealed that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has left more than ₹28.77 crore of its National Clean Air Programme funds unspent over the past two years. (Also read: Supreme Court sounds warning as Delhi AQI hits ‘severe’ for 3rd straight day)

People walk at Kartavya Path amid smog as air quality remains in the 'Poor' category, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo)(Sathiya)

What the RTI report stated about funds

According to a news agency PTI report, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commenced the 2023–24 financial year with ₹26.6 crore in hand from previous allocations, as per utilisation certificates submitted by the corporation to the Union Environment Ministry and accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

Delhi also received an additional ₹8.93 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), taking the total available funds to over ₹35.3 crore. However, the documents have now revealed that only ₹5.19 crore was utilised in 2023–24, leaving the remaining ₹30.11 crore unspent by the end of March 2024. Which means that in the next year, Delhi started with that unspent amount and earned an interest of around ₹75 lakh, bringing the total available funds to ₹30.8 crore. It also stated that by March 2025, just ₹1.34 crore had been spent, leaving the entire amount of ₹29.5 crore unspent.

The RTI records show that many of Delhi’s commitments under the ‘Air Quality Challenge Method’ — a reform-linked framework determining future funding — remain incomplete. It includes the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of Plastic Waste Management Rules, while the E-waste collection centres have not been notified on the official portal, despite the requirement. Moreover, the automated testing stations and vehicle scrapping facilities have yet to be operationalised.

More details

According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 425 at 9 am on Thursday, placing it in the “severe” category. In the wake of the AQI, the CAQM has invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the Delhi-NCR, triggering a nine-point emergency response that includes a ban on construction activities, restrictions on diesel vehicles and other curbs aimed at reducing emissions.

(via inputs from PTI)