BENGALURU: Bengaluru is listed as one of the 102 Indian cities listed by the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) committee as non-attainable cities. The city finds its place because of the poor air quality and rise in particulate matter (PM)10 for the last five years, said Satyendra Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.
He said the PM10 levels in Bengaluru are alarming. To improve the air pollution in these non-attainable cities, the central government sanctioned Rs 10 crore. The amount will be released to Bengaluru in the coming months and will be given to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
Kumar was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the two-day long conference - India Clean Air Summit, 2019, organised by Centre for Study of Science Technology and Policy and Centre for Air Pollution Studies. He said the performance of the cities and the funds sanctioned will be monitored periodically and reports will be collected.
The boards will have to prepare an action plan and submit it to the National Green Tribunal committee on the measures to mitigate air pollution. Apart from Bengaluru, Kalaburgi, Hubballi, Dharwad and Davangere also are listed as non-attainable cities.
Kumar pressed on the need for maintaining proper roads which reduce road dust and pollution. He also emphasised on the need for garbage management to ensure that no garbage is burnt. Citing the example of Delhi where processing construction and debris waste is mandatory, he said the same should be implemented in Bengaluru and other cities.
Prof Ashish Verma, associate professor, transportation engineering, department of civil engineering, Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning, said the state government is looking at point based traffic solutions. Instead, he said, it should look at over all time and travel-based solutions, which will help reduce the use of fossil fuel.