Byrnihat in Meghalaya ranked the most polluted town in the world : IQAir !

Byrnihat in Meghalaya ranked the most polluted town in the world : IQAir !!

KAKALI DAS

The 2024 World Air Quality Report by equipment manufacturer IQAir reveals that 35 Indian cities, including Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarpur, Patna, and others, have been ranked among the 50 most polluted cities globally, with Byrnihat in Meghalaya leading the list.

What is even more concerning is that 16 of these cities have received nearly ₹1000 crore over the past 8 years to combat air pollution, yet the situation remains dire.

This alarming revelation has put India’s National Clean Air Program (NCAP) under intense scrutiny. As the most expensive air pollution control initiative ever undertaken in India—and one of the largest globally—NCAP was expected to bring significant improvements.

However, its impact seems virtually absent in 19 of the Indian cities that feature among the world’s 50 most polluted.

The study was conducted by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, using PM2.5 data gathered from over 40,000 air quality monitoring stations across 138 countries.

A deeper analysis of the results reveals that 10 out of the 35 Indian cities listed among the world’s 50 most polluted are designated as both NCAP and smart cities. This raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of urban development plans, which are expected to tackle pollution while simultaneously enhancing infrastructure promised under the Smart Cities initiative.

When the NCAP was launched in 2019, its goal was to reduce PM2.5 levels by 20 to 30% by 2024, compared to 2017 levels. However, in 2022, the timeline was extended to 2026, with the target increased to a 40% reduction. Despite this extension, many cities remain significantly distant from meeting these targets.

According to the IQAir report, India’s average PM2.5 concentration declined from 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter in 2023 to 50.6 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024—a 7% reduction. Despite this improvement, India remains the 5^th most polluted country in the world.

According to data from the PRANA portal, which tracks NCAP’s performance, a staggering ₹11,541 crore had been disbursed as of March 14 to cities classified as non-attainment areas—those with persistent pollution issues.

However, many of these cities have utilized only a small portion of their allocated funds. Byrnihat in Meghalaya, the world’s most polluted city in 2024, used just 54% of its ₹8 crore budget, while Delhi spent only 32% of its approved budget.

Some cities have struggled to curb pollution despite significant spending. Patna and Chandigarh, both part of the NCAP and Smart Cities initiatives, serve as key examples. Patna allocated ₹233 crore for pollution control under NCAP between 2017 and 2018, utilizing 78% of its budget. However, air quality worsened, with PM10 levels rising by 3% in 2023-24 compared to 2017-18.

Similarly, Chandigarh spent nearly ₹30 crore—93% of its allocated budget—yet pollution levels still increased by 2% during the same period.

Experts have emphasized the urgent need for a revision of the NCAP. Sunil Dahiya, an air pollution expert, suggested that the program should expand to include more cities and adopt a systematic, time-bound approach to reducing emissions.

Anumita Roychowdhury, an expert from the Centre for Science and Environment, pointed out that two-thirds of the allocated funds have been spent on dust control, while more critical sources of pollution, such as ultrafine particles from burning biomass and solid waste, remain largely unaddressed.

Sagnik De, a Professor and scientist at IIT Delhi, emphasized that pollution is not confined to non-attainment cities alone. A significant portion of the pollution in these cities originates from outside their jurisdiction. He argued that unless sector-specific measures are implemented with strict compliance and accountability, India’s battle against air pollution will not succeed.

While the government has allocated substantial funds and resources to combat air pollution, the effectiveness of these efforts remains uncertain. The fight against air pollution in India is far from over.

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