World Bank Approves $305 Million for Haryana's Ambitious Clean Air Project: Transforming the State by 2030

The World Bank has granted USD 305 million in financial assistance for the Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development (HCAPSD), an ambitious initiative designed to transform Haryana into a pollution-free state by 2030.

This approval follows a significant meeting held in November last year between Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and World Bank representatives in Chandigarh.

According to a state government spokesperson, the World Bank has committed to providing a loan of Rs 2,498 crore to support the HCAPSD implementation, which has a total project cost of Rs 3,646 crore.

The Haryana government will contribute Rs 1,065 crore to the project, with an additional Rs 83 crore allocated as a grant.

HCAPSD aims to achieve measurable improvements in air quality throughout the state through coordinated actions across multiple sectors including transport, industry, agriculture, urban management, and scientific monitoring.

Implementation will be led by a Special Purpose Vehicle called ARJUN (AI for Resilient Jobs, Urban Air Quality & Next-Gen Skills Council), which will ensure integrated planning, execution, and real-time monitoring.

ARJUN is chaired by Rajesh Khullar, Chief Principal Secretary to the Haryana CM, who previously served as executive director on the World Bank's Board of Directors representing India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka from 2020 to 2023.

The project will support Haryana's comprehensive action plan to reduce air pollution through multisectoral interventions, including investment in advanced air quality and emission monitoring systems to better assess pollution sources and their impacts.

Of the total Rs 3,646 crore program cost, Rs 1,688 crore has been allocated for transport-sector initiatives focused on reducing urban transport emissions and strengthening the state's clean mobility ecosystem.

This transport component includes deploying 500 electric buses across Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, and Jhajjar with an investment of Rs 1,513 crore.

Additional transport initiatives include phasing out high-polluting vehicles, developing the vehicle scrapping ecosystem, installing 200 Electric Vehicle charging stations (Rs 20 crore), providing incentives for electric three-wheelers (Rs 100 crore), and implementing fleet replacement incentives to transition old three-wheelers to EVs (Rs 45 crore).

These transport initiatives will be jointly implemented by Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited, Haryana City Bus Service Limited, and the departments of transport and industries.

For industrial improvements, Rs 563 crore will be invested by the department of industries and commerce to promote cleaner industrial operations, real-time emission control, and improved compliance standards.

This industrial component includes Rs 100 crore in incentives for industrial boilers to switch to Piped Natural Gas, Rs 330 crore for promoting or replacing high-emission diesel generator sets with cleaner alternatives, and Rs 33 crore to support installation of Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems in key industrial facilities.

Additionally, Rs 746 crore will be allocated through the agriculture and panchayat departments to implement agricultural sector interventions and advanced soil management practices to further reduce air pollution.