Ghaziabad gets ₹17 crore from planning commission to combat bad air

Environmentalists suggest the municipal corporation to spend funds in a transparent manner and should also involve citizens in its utilisation

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation will receive funds of ₹17.17 crore, under the Fifteenth Finance Commission, for taking measures to combat air pollution and improve air quality, municipal corporation officials said on Monday.

A communication dated June 5 from ministry of finance said seven cities in Uttar Pradesh, including Ghaziabad, have been proposed to receive about ₹258 crore for taking up air quality improvement measure. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

A communication dated June 5 from ministry of finance said seven cities in Uttar Pradesh, including Ghaziabad, have been proposed to receive about ₹258 crore for taking up air quality improvement measures. The others cities are Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi.

“A fund of about ₹17 crore have been approved and we have planned certain measures for combating air pollution. we will focus on greenery based initiatives and solutions,” said Vikramaditya Malik, municipal commissioner.

During 2020-21, Ghaziabad received ₹120 crore for spending on measures for improvement in air quality and improvement in solid waste management measures.

Municipal officials said funds were spent on purchasing water sprinkler machines, mechanised road sweeping machines, restructuring and improving dusty roads, plantation drives and purchase of other equipment.

“Earlier in March, we were told that a sum of ₹34 crore was approved. But now we have been told that only about ₹17 crore has been improved. Once we get the money, we will chalk out measures and try to implement these before the onset of winter, when air pollution spikes,” Malik said.

According to official figures of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPCCB), the city recorded an annual average air quality index of 256 in 2017, 250 in 2018, 238 in 2019, 204 in 2020, 227 in 2021 and 206 in 2022. All these readings are in the “poor” category on the AQI scale. The average AQI for 2023 was not readily available.

The city is listed among the 16 “non-attainment” cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh and its pollution levels generally remain on the higher side during the onset of winter.

Cities are declared “non-attainment” if they do not meet the national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter (PM10) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for over a period of five years.

Environmentalists said the municipal corporation should spend funds in a transparent manner and should also involve citizens in its utilisation.

“The corporation is a maintenance agency and have funds for improvement of roads. For instance, if they spend air quality improvement funds on road repair, that defeats the purpose. So, they should focus strictly on utilising funds for measures such as to set up more air quality monitoring stations, development of forests and creating dense plantation areas. The spending should be made public,” said Sushil Raghav, a city-based environmentalist.