The government on Thursday raised concerns over the credibility of a global report that ranked India among the world’s most polluted countries, calling the findings “misleading” due to limitations in data sources and methodology.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha by Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said the IQAir report published in March 2024 based its rankings on average PM2.5 concentrations.
However, only 38% of the data used in the report came from government sources.
“The remaining 62% comes from other agencies, including data generated using low-cost sensors, which are not approved for regulatory use and may have a high margin of error,” Singh said in a written reply.
Singh said that these sensors could produce inaccurate results and that the report’s use of population-weighted averages from urban stations may not reflect true national conditions.
“In view of these limitations, the rankings may not present an accurate picture and could be misleading,” the minister added.
When asked whether air pollution is leading to deaths and impacting public health across India, Singh said there is no conclusive data linking air pollution directly to mortality.
“Air pollution is one of many contributing factors to respiratory and related illnesses. However, health outcomes also depend on diet, occupation, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, and environmental factors,” he said.
“It is not scientifically accurate to isolate air pollution as the sole cause of death.”
Responding to criticism that the government’s air pollution control strategy focuses too heavily on road dust over other major sources, Singh said the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019, addresses all major contributors including industrial emissions, vehicles, biomass burning, waste, and construction dust.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 130 non-attainment cities, cities that have failed to meet national air quality standards for five years and prepared specific clean air action plans for each.
“These plans target local sources of pollution and include both short- and long-term strategies in coordination with local agencies,” Singh said.
He cited source apportionment studies under NCAP showing that road dust and construction activities contribute 40–50% of PM10 levels in urban areas.
As a result, cities have prioritised road improvement, traffic management, junction redesign, and greening of open spaces.
The Minister also said that performance-based grants are being provided to local bodies in the 130 identified cities under both the Central Sector Scheme ‘Control of Pollution’ and the 15th Finance Commission’s air quality grants.
“As of July 20, 2025, Rs 13,036.52 crore has been released to these cities since 2019–20, with Rs 9,209.44 crore already utilised,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)