Delhi Civic Body Leaves Rs 29 Crore Clean Air Funds Unspent Amid Worsening Air Pollution Crisis

The RTI application was filed by Noida-based environmentalist Amit Gupta. (File)

New Delhi:

While Delhi continues to struggle with dangerous air quality levels, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has failed to utilize over Rs 28.77 crore from its National Clean Air Programme funds during the past two years, according to information revealed through an RTI response.

Financial records show that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) entered the 2023-24 fiscal year with Rs 26.6 crore remaining from previous allocations, as per utilization certificates submitted to the Union Environment Ministry and obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

During that financial year, Delhi received an additional Rs 8.93 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), bringing the total available funding to more than Rs 35.3 crore.

However, documentation reveals that only Rs 5.19 crore was actually spent in 2023-24, leaving Rs 30.11 crore unused by the end of March 2024.

For the subsequent fiscal year (2024-25), Delhi began with this substantial carryover amount and generated approximately Rs 75 lakh in interest, resulting in total available funds of Rs 30.8 crore.

Despite this significant budget, just Rs 1.34 crore had been utilized by March 2025, leaving an enormous Rs 29.5 crore unspent, according to the RTI response.

The NCAP framework required Delhi to implement numerous critical interventions, including dust management through mechanized road cleaning and water sprinklers, installation of air quality monitoring stations, development of green buffers, and improvements to waste management systems.

However, inspection reports included in the RTI reply indicate that implementation at the ground level was "not that much effectively" carried out, and utilization of NCAP funds "needs to be increased."

The response also highlighted delays in uploading city-level progress data to the PRANA portal, which monitors NCAP activities implementation across the country.

RTI records demonstrate that many of Delhi's commitments under the 'Air Quality Challenge Method' - a reform-linked framework that determines future funding allocations - remain unfulfilled.

For example, the city has not registered under the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of Plastic Waste Management Rules, and E-waste collection centers have not been properly notified on the official portal, despite requirements to do so.

Additionally, essential measures to address vehicular pollution - including the establishment of automated testing stations and vehicle scrapping facilities - have yet to be operationalized.

The RTI application that revealed these findings was filed by environmentalist Amit Gupta, who is based in Noida.

The national capital has been experiencing severe air pollution for multiple days. On Tuesday, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) entered the 'severe' category - a level hazardous even to healthy individuals - after surpassing 400.

The city continued to record 'severe' air quality through Thursday, before experiencing a slight improvement that moved it into the 'very poor' category by Friday.

According to standards established by the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and 401-500 as severe.