Despite being at the epicenter of India’s pollution crisis, Delhi and several other Indian cities have significantly underutilized the financial support extended to them under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Launched in 2019 with the ambitious goal of curbing particulate matter (PM10) levels by 40% across 130 high-risk urban areas by 2026, the program has faced severe implementation gaps. Official records reveal that Delhi has spent just 32.65% of its allocation, while 13 other cities have similarly lagged. Overall, only 71% of the Rs. 12,636 crore sanctioned nationwide has been utilized, raising concerns about administrative inefficiencies and missed environmental targets.
The National Clean Air Programme: A Missed Opportunity?
Introduced in 2019 as India’s first comprehensive framework to combat urban air pollution, the NCAP aimed to drive actionable change in 130 cities. Using 2019–2020 as the baseline, the program set a target to reduce PM10 levels by 40% by 2026. It employed a multi-pronged funding mechanism, allocating resources either directly from the Union Ministry of Environment or through the 15th Finance Commission for cities with populations over one million.
While the funding architecture appears sound on paper, its execution tells a different story.
Delhi's Alarming Underutilization
Delhi—long ranked among the world’s most polluted cities—received Rs. 42.69 crore under the NCAP. However, it managed to deploy only Rs. 13.94 crore, a mere 32.65% of its allocation. Given the severity of the capital’s air quality issues, this underperformance signals a critical lapse in urgency and governance.
NCR and Beyond: The Pattern of Inaction
The issue is not confined to the national capital. Several major cities across India have displayed similarly dismal utilization rates. Noida, a key industrial and residential hub in Uttar Pradesh, spent just Rs. 3.44 crore out of its Rs. 30.89 crore budget. Faridabad, another city in the National Capital Region (NCR), utilized only Rs. 28.60 crore of the Rs. 107.14 crore allocated to it.
Cities such as Visakhapatnam (Rs. 39.42 crore spent out of Rs. 129.25 crore), Jalandhar (Rs. 17.65 crore of Rs. 45.44 crore), and Gulbarga (Rs. 8.98 crore of Rs. 23.48 crore) have similarly fallen short of optimal fund deployment.
Wider National Trends in NCAP Fund Utilization
As of May 27, 2025, only Rs. 8,981 crore—about 71% of the Rs. 12,636 crore distributed under NCAP—has been spent. The 82 cities that received direct assistance from the Ministry of Environment spent Rs. 1,268 crore, representing 78.5% of the Rs. 1,615.47 crore allocated to them. Meanwhile, the 48 cities funded through the 15th Finance Commission used Rs. 7,713 crore, just 70% of their Rs. 11,020 crore corpus.
The data underscores a systemic issue: while funding mechanisms exist and allocations are being made, cities lack the capacity—or will—to deploy resources efficiently and timely.
The Roadblocks: Policy or Execution?
The low expenditure levels point to deeper operational and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Implementation bottlenecks, inadequate project planning, lack of technical expertise, and insufficient inter-departmental coordination have likely hampered progress.
Moreover, in many urban local bodies, air pollution continues to be treated as a secondary issue—overshadowed by more immediate civic concerns like sanitation and water supply. The absence of dedicated, skilled environmental officers and a robust accountability framework further exacerbates the inertia.
Conclusion: An Urgent Call for Administrative Reform
The findings are sobering. At a time when India’s cities routinely feature among the world’s most polluted, the failure to capitalize on available funds reflects not just administrative inefficiency but also a concerning lack of political and civic urgency.
If India is to meet its NCAP goals by 2026, a re-evaluation of the program’s implementation mechanisms is imperative. Strengthening institutional capacities, ensuring regular audits, enhancing transparency, and holding local bodies accountable could help unlock the program’s true potential—before it’s too late.
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