Mumbai and Pune Lead Efforts, But NCAP Cities in Maharashtra Struggle with Air Pollution Goals

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Pune, 12th January 2025: There are 19 NCAP cities in Maharashtra viz., Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Badlapur, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Thane, Ulhasnagar, and Vasai Virar.

In 2024, all 19 cities under NCAP exceeded the PM10 annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 60 μg/m3.

Six cities such as Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Navi Mumbai, Solapur, Jalna, and  Kolhapur had increased PM10 concentration when compared to NCAP baseline year (2017-28) concentration.

12 cities showed improvement in PM10 levels but it should be noted that even though there is improvement ,these cities are still higher than PM10 NAAQS.

Mumbai showed the highest of 46% reduction in PM10 concentration when compared to baseline year among Maharashtra cities followed by Thane (33%), Badlapur (32%), and Ulhasnagar (32%)

Interestingly, Virar showed no change in its PM10 concentration, remaining at 99 μg/m³, the same as the baseline year

Table: Comparing 2024 PM10 concentration with 2017-18 baseline year concentration

Category City
Increased PM10 Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Navi Mumbai, Solapur, Jalna and Kolhapur
No change in PM10 Virar
1 to 10% PM10 reduction Nashik, Nagpur and Latur
10 to 20% PM10 reduction Amravati, Akola, Sangli and Pune
20 to 30% PM10 reduction Chandrapur
>30% PM10 reduction Ulhasnagar, Badlapur, Thane and Mumbai

Fund utilization

The state received ₹1,754 crores in funds, of which ₹1,097 crores were utilized, resulting in 63% fund utilization.

The NCAP implementation committee has mandated that 75% fund utilization is a prerequisite for the release of additional funds.

Among the 19 NCAP cities in Maharashtra, nine cities (Jalgaon, Jalna, Latur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Vasai-Virar, Pune, and Nagpur) reported fund utilization below 75%.

Source apportionment study

Only 8 out of 19 cities in Maharashtra have completed their source apportionment studies, while the remaining cities are still in progress.

It is Reported that Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Amravati, Aurangabad, Kolhapur have completed source apportionment studies.

Remaining cities like Badlapur, Akola, Chandarpur, Jalgaon, Jalna, Latur, Ulhasnagar, Sangli, Thane, Vasai-Virar & Nagpur have not completed source apportionment studies.

“Only 5 out of 19 cities achieved the initial NCAP target of a 20-30% reduction in PM10 levels. The fact that the majority of cities are still struggling to meet even the initial target raises serious concerns about the feasibility of achieving the ambitious 40% reduction within the next two years. Expediting source apportionment studies and aligning funding with identified pollution sources, rather than focusing solely on dust, is crucial for targeted and effective interventions.” said Manoj Kumar, Analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Table: PM10 concentration in Maharashtra cities

NCAP city Annual Average PM10 concentrations in 2017-18 (µg/m3) Annual Average PM10 concentrations in 2024 (µg/m3) Percentage Change in 2024 with 2017-18
Jalgaon 70 109 56
Aurangabad 75 91 22
Navi Mumbai 88 107 21
Solapur 81 93 15
Jalna 99 106 7
Kolhapur 89 92 4
Virar 99 99 0
Nashik 82 80 -3
Nagpur 100 95 -5
Latur 82 75 -9
Amravati 102 86 -16
Akola 111 93 -17
Sangli 87 72 -17
Pune 102 84 -18
Chandrapur 118 87 -27
Ulhasnagar 153 104 -32
Badlapur 160 108 -32
Thane 138 93 -33
Mumbai 161 87 -46