HYDERABAD: Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Patancheruvu and Sangareddy of Telangana continue to be in the list of Non-Attainment cities, based on their ambient air quality levels that have been exceeding the standards of National Ambient Air Quality for five consecutive years, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has informed the Lok Sabha.
The major reason for the poor air quality index in these areas is believed to be the vehicular and industrial pollutants. The monthly Air Quality Index values at these places for the year 2022 were recorded at 97, 58, 70 and 68 respectively while 50 is the ideal value. Experts say that long-term exposure to these pollutants might result in serious respiratory ailments in several people.
A recent answer tabled in the Lok Sabha stated that a course of action was in place for mitigation of air pollution. Promotion of electric vehicles, switching to cleaner fuel such as CNG, expansion of the network of Metro rails for public transport and shifting from BS-IV to BS-VI norms are some of the steps taken to reduce vehicular pollution.
Likewise, industries are also compelled to follow stringent emission norms even for coal based Thermal Power Plants and a real-time monitoring system has been introduced in all major industrial sectors.
It was mentioned that a portal named “Portal for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities” or “PRANA” has also been launched by the Ministry for paperless monitoring of NCAP and for disseminating information about the programme to the public.