NCAP Funds Wastage in Delhi: Delhi’s air quality is at a critical level, but MCD has not spent nearly Rs 29 crore of NCAP funds in the last two years, due to which the health of the city residents is in danger. There has been a big revelation regarding this.
Delhi Air Pollution NCAP Report: Delhi is making breathing difficult these days. The air quality index (AQI) of the city has continuously reached the ‘severe’ level. At such a time, it is even more worrying to know that crores of rupees of the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) have not been spent. According to information received from RTI, MCD kept about Rs 29 crore with itself in the last two years, while the city’s air was becoming poisonous every day. Delhi’s air problem is not new. Air pollution reaches its peak during the winter season and due to pollution, not only children and elderly but also people with normal health face serious problems. In such a situation, the lack of proper utilization of funds received under NCAP is very shocking.
Complete data and expenditure of NCAP fund
In the financial year 2023-24, MCD had Rs 26.6 crore left over from the previous year. Additionally, Delhi received an additional Rs 8.93 crore under NCAP. Overall, Rs 35.3 crore were available for expenditure that year. But according to official documents, MCD spent only Rs 5.19 crore that year i.e. about Rs 30.11 crore was not spent. In the upcoming financial year 2024-25, this remaining money was taken as the beginning. With the addition of interest of about Rs 75 lakh, the total fund reached Rs 30.8 crore. But till March 2025, MCD had spent only Rs 1.34 crore, while the remaining Rs 29.5 crore was still unused on the ground.
What was to happen in Delhi under NCAP
Delhi had to take many important steps under the National Clean Air Programme. This included mechanical cleaning and water sprinkling to control dust on roads and public places. It was also responsible for setting up air quality monitoring stations, creating a green buffer in the city, and taking measures for proper waste management. But the RTI response revealed that all these steps were not implemented effectively on the ground. Many schemes appeared only on paper, and the actual impact of the work was not visible.
Data Uploading and Administrative Delays
The progress of NCAP is monitored on the PRANA portal, where activity reports for each city have to be uploaded. A lot of delay has been seen in this work also in Delhi. The city did not meet many of its commitments under the ‘Air Quality Challenge Method’. For example, registration for plastic waste has not been done and e-waste collection centers have not yet been notified on the official portal. Also, the automated testing and vehicle scrapping facility required to control pollution caused by vehicles has not been started yet. All these delays and neglect have a direct impact on the air quality of the city.
Reality of Delhi’s air
The situation is serious in Delhi. On Tuesday, AQI crossed the critical level for the first time, which means that this situation can become dangerous even for healthy people. The next day also the air quality remained fine and after slight improvement on Friday, it was kept in the very poor category. According to CPCB, 0-50 AQI is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe. In this respect, Delhi’s air quality has been at a critical level for a long time.
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