SHIMLA: Sundernagar and Nalagarh towns of Himachal Pradesh bagged second and third places, respectively, at the national Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2022 Awards instituted by the National Clean Air Programme.
Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav and Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal gave the award on Saturday in Bhubaneswar during an international conference titled 'Vayu'.
Chief Scientific Officer at Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board Dr Manoj Chauhan received the cash award of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh for the two towns, respectively, on behalf of the state, a release issued here said.
The board's member secretary Apoorv Devgan said the state adopted a multi-pronged strategy by involving all stakeholder departments and prepared an action plan for mitigation of air pollution in all non-attainment cities and towns (NAC/Ts). The state board has upgraded its air monitoring capability in all the NAC/Ts.
Further, effective periodic review of Air Quality Monitoring Committee's (AQMC)action plan and efforts of the State Pollution Control Board as well as efforts at the city level have led to over 40 per cent reduction in particulate PM10 concentration, he said.
PM10 is the term used for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in air. The state's overall Air Quality Index has also improved to 61 from 81 during the base year 2017, he added.