TIRUPATI: The annual average concentration of fine Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) and coarse Particulate Matter 10 (PM 10), two major pollutants, has come down across 11 major cities in Andhra Pradesh. The pollution levels witnessed a downward trend due to the initiatives taken under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Union minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in response to a question raised by MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The MoEFCC had launched NCAP in 2019 to reduce pollution levels caused by PM 2.5 and PM 10 by 20 to 30% by 2024. The ministry used 2017 as the base year to identify pollution levels in 131 cities, including 11 most polluted cities in Andhra Pradesh.
The Centre identified Anantapur, Chittoor, Eluru, Guntur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, Ongole, Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada and Vizianagaram as the 11 most polluted cities and launched the programme to reduce concentration levels of the pollutants.
Levels of PM10 improved in Anantapur, Chittoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Nellore, and Ongole with concentration levels being within the prescribed National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 60 μg/m3 in FY 2021-22 as compared to FY 2017-18. However, the concentration levels of PM10 continued to hover above the prescribed levels in five major cities, including Vijayawada, Rajamahendravaram, Kurnool, Vizianagaram and Eluru even after taking measures to control it under NCAP.