Evaluating India's billion dollar battle against air pollution

More than $1 billion in government funding has been allocated to cities, but just 60% has been spent. Only 16 cities have achieved the targeted pollution cuts. What can be done?

India has regularly been in the headlines for its poor air quality over the last ten years or so. Despite $1 billion of investment, new policies and a health crisis the problem lingers on.

We all know the air is bad in India and this harms its reputation. More than four deaths every minute are linked to air pollution-related cardiovascular and lung diseases as well as cancers. About a decade ago Delhi and Beijing shared the title as the most polluted cities in the world. Since then, pollution levels have risen in many African cities, so the picture has changed, but it is worth noting that last year, Delhi was ranked 9th and Beijing was ranked 489th among the most polluted globally. Where China has succeeded this has not always been the case for India. A recent report highlights the results of an ambitious five-year landmark government plan, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The NCAP was launched in January 2019, initially to cut pollution by 20 to 30%. Two years ago, this target was increased to a 40% reduction by 2026. In the last five years, over $1 billion of government funding (INR 96 billion Indian rupees) has been released to well over a hundred cities to cut air pollution. But only about 60% has been spent, and only 16 cities managed to meet the targeted cuts according to a recent analysis.

The number of government air monitors has increased from 134 five years ago to almost 550 today. However, some regions are not covered and two-thirds of the monitors do not show continuous, real-time data. Much of the data monitored by industry is not available to the public. The degree of success in cutting air pollution is not only linked to funding but also to local factors, ranging from implementation to meteorological issues. For instance, both Greater Mumbai and Kolkata spent over INR 6 billion. But PM 2.5 levels rose 38% in the former and fell 16.7% in the latter. Varanasi spent only about a third of its INR 2.29 billion but improved the most, cutting air pollution by 72%. Delhi’s pollution has only seen a marginal dip of under 6% since 2019. Accepting and following the science is one of the most helpful things officials can do. Scientists have long contended that smog towers don’t work – yet a lot of investment still went into them. In Delhi, road dust is removed by vacuum equipment mounted on trucks, but powered by polluting diesel generators. Officials, especially in Delhi and its neighbouring areas, have long neglected promoting clean public transit over gasoline and diesel vehicles – although there is an excellent metro network. The latter could also provide the backbone for a much broader shift away from private vehicles to urban transit and non-motorised transport. Instead, more roads and parking are constantly being built for private vehicles in the capital. Vehicles are a significant source of pollution, accounting for about 40% in Delhi. One low-hanging fruit approach could therefore be to slash metro fares, using funding from an existing environmental levy on petrol and diesel – about INR 7.8 billion is lying unused. Other policies, such as the government’s cooking gas scheme, Ujjwala, has helped about 80 million beneficiaries switch from burning biomass and been more successful.

Ebba Malmqvist

Health Policy Watch 30 January 2024, https://healthpolicy-watch.news/despite-1-billion-expenditure-indias-air...