Below 75% fund utilisation: CPCB pulls up Delhi on NCAP gaps

An inspection by the CPCB highlights gaps in Delhi's pollution control measures, urging better fund use and attention to pollution hotspots.

Published on: May 27, 2026, 03:52:17 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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A recent inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has flagged gaps in implementation of Delhi’s anti-pollution measures, calling for better fund utilisation and coverage of Delhi’s pollution hotspots, a new RTI reply accessed by activist Amit Gupta shows.

Below 75% fund utilisation: CPCB pulls up Delhi on NCAP gaps

The reply said the inspection was carried out on May 6 by CPCB nodal officer Sundaram, who reviewed the status of Delhi’s NCAP action plan and implementation of pollution-control measures across the city. The report noted that footpath pavement work, greenery and operation of mechanical road sweeping machines at select locations, including Naya Marg and Krishna Menon Marg. While these were found satisfactory during field visits. However, CPCB observed hotspots need more attention.

“Work done at the visited sites were found satisfactory, but the city needs to target all hotspot locations for air quality improvement,” said the report, adding Delhi also needs to improve fund utilisation under NCAP.

While the report did not specify how much funds had been used so far by Delhi, out of the total allocated under NCAP, it said utilisation was below 75% at present.

It further observed that action taken by urban local bodies on suggestions made during previous inspections were implemented but “not that much effectively”.

Data on the Centre’s NCAP portal shows ₹81.36 crore has been allocated by the Centre between 2019-20 and 2026-27, only ₹27 crore has been spent so far.

“Delhi may have shown visible project execution at selected sites, but CPCB says broader implementation and accountability gaps continue to affect pollution-control outcomes,” Gupta said.

The NCAP was launched by the Centre in January 2019 for 131 cities that did not meet the NAAQS (national ambient air quality standards) between 2011 and 2015. Setting 2017 as the base year, the Union had said these cities needed to improve their annual PM 10 levels by 20-30% by 2024.

This initial deadline was later extended to 2026, by which time the concentration is to come down by 40%. Till January 2024, Delhi had only been able to bring down its PM 10 concentration by 12% -- falling short of the first NCAP deadline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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