As national capital chokes, MCD sat on clean air funds

As the Capital continued to choke, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) spent only 17 per cent of its clean air funds in the last five years, documents received through an RTI query show.

The information, shared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), also highlights repeated gaps flagged during official inspections of Delhi’s air pollution mitigation measures.

According to the CPCB’s response, Delhi received Rs 8.93 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2023-24. Along with an unspent balance of Rs 26.60 crore from previous years, the total available fund for that year stood at Rs 35.31 crore. Of this, the MCD spent Rs 5.19 crore, which is about 15 per cent of the total.

In 2024-25, the civic body did not receive any new NCAP grant. It had Rs 30.11 crore available from earlier allocations, but used only Rs. 1.34 crore, or 4.36 per cent of the amount.

Taken together, the MCD spent Rs 6.54 crore out of the Rs 35.31 crore available across 2023-24 and 2024-25, amounting to 18.50 per cent utilisation.

The CPCB said Delhi has received Rs 81.36 crore in NCAP funds over the past five years, but used only Rs 14.1 crore, or 17 per cent.

“As per information submitted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Portal for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities (PRANA), funds under NCAP have been utilised for the procurement of truck-mounted multipurpose water sprinkler with anti-smog gun and C&D waste management,” the CPCB wrote in a reply.

Along with fund utilisation data, the CPCB has shared inspection findings from three visits conducted on April 2, 2024, January 8, 2025 and June 25, 2025. The inspections were aimed at assessing the progress of air quality-related work carried out by the MCD.

Across these visits, the CPCB noted diversion of NCAP funds to purposes not covered under the programme and continued low utilisation despite repeated observations. The inspection teams said the MCD had not taken action on suggestions issued during earlier reviews.

The CPCB also recorded that minutes of the city-level implementation committee meetings, which are required to be uploaded on the NCAP’s PRANA portal, were missing. This portal is used to track planning, fund flow and progress under the clean-air programme.

During the latest inspection, the team was able to verify only pavement work and a few water sprinklers. Other activities listed under NCAP work plans could not be confirmed on ground.

Delhi’s local bodies are key implementing agencies under NCAP, which aims to reduce particulate matter concentrations in non-attainment cities. The Capital’s air quality remains among the most closely monitored in the country, and local-level actions on road dust, waste burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution form a major component of

the programme.

The findings come at a time when the city is facing persistent PM2.5 and PM10 levels during peak pollution months. Road dust, construction debris and waste burning are regularly listed among major contributors to particulate pollution.