PAAH writes to MoEFCC, CPCB raising concerns over data discrepancies in PMC’s Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan self-assessment
The Pune Air Action Hub alleges the PMC made false claims in its Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan self-assessment, urging verification of data by authorities.
The Pune Air Action Hub (PAAH) has written a letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC); Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in the first week of February, raising concerns over data discrepancies in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan self-assessment by the PMC. The PAAH alleges that the PMC has made false claims in the self-assessment, and has urged the MoEFCC and CPCB to verify the data submitted by the urban local body (ULB).
The letter primarily questions the PMC’s overrated achievements in terms of key deliverables. Under the category of ‘abatement of road dust’ where the PMC claims that the roads are 100% pothole free, the letter mentions that citizens have been pleading for road repairs and that even President Draupadi Murmu called to attention the bad condition of roads in December 2024. Similarly, under ‘measures to abate emissions from biomass/municipal solid waste burning’ where the PMC claims 100% plastic waste collection, the letter mentions that Punekars, including members of the PAAH, have observed huge amounts of plastic waste thrown across the city on a daily basis. The letter points out other such discrepancies in the self-assessment.
Pushkar Kulkarni, a member of the PAAH, said, “Apart from raising concerns over discrepancies in the data, we have also made a few suggestions to the MoEFCC and CPCB to improve the veracity of the assessment. The recommendations include strengthening third-party audits and incorporating real-time monitoring to enhance transparency and effectiveness in improving urban air quality, and involving stakeholders and citizens to validate the data gathered to ensure accuracy to some extent.”
The Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is a MoEFCC initiative to rank cities on the basis of implementation of activities approved under the ‘city action plan’ in 131 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities. The top three cities in different categories are awarded a cash prize, trophy and certificate with the title ‘National Clean Air City’ under the National Mission for Clean Air on September 7 every year. All 131 NCAP cities are assessed based on the ranking framework submitted by the cities or ULBs to the CPCB. The ULBs gather data for various sectors such as road maintenance, electricity, solid waste management, and city tree cover among others and submit it in a prescribed format. Scores are given for each of the data points, and every city tries to achieve the highest score. There is also a third-party audit involved. Members of the PAAH, while studying the city ranking data obtained from the CPCB, noticed discrepancies in the data submitted by the PMC and pointed out the same in the letter.