Staff Reporter
Guwahati: At a time when the air quality in Guwahati and other towns has become a matter of concern, funds released under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for local civic bodies remain unspent. In the past three years, Guwahati recorded a total of 200 'bad days' in terms of air quality.
The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in January 2019, is a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
According to sources, the central government released Rs 171.66 crore under NCAP for civic bodies in five cities or towns in Assam between the financial years of 2019-20 and 2025-26. The cities or towns are Guwahati, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Silchar. Of the Rs 171.66 crore released, Rs 83.21 crore remains unspent, as of July 2026. The highest funds of Rs 108.64 crore were released for Guwahati city, and only Rs 51.28 crore has been spent, leaving Rs 57.36 crore unspent.
As per available information, Guwahati recorded a total of 74 'bad days' in 2023, 75 in 2024, and 51 in 2025. The ambient air quality in Guwahati remains an issue, particularly in the dry season. So, not spending the funds meant to improve the air quality raises questions. There are 41 ambient air quality monitoring stations across the state to assess the air quality in different cities and towns.
During the period from 2019-20 to 2025-26, funds amounting to Rs 20.42 crore were released for Nagaon under NCAP, out of which Rs 9.52 crore remain unspent, as of July 2026. The town-wise amounts released and unspent are as follows: Sivasagar had Rs 13.29 crore and 6.96 crore, Silchar had Rs 17.59 crore and Rs 6.08 crore, and Nalbari had Rs 11.72 crore released and Rs 3.29 unspent.
Key objectives of NCAP include (i) Mitigation Measures: Implement strict, time-bound actions to control pollution from vehicles, dust, industries, and biomass burning. (ii) Monitoring Network: Expand and upgrade ambient air quality monitoring systems across India to create a reliable, real-time database. (iii) Public Awareness & Outreach: Enhance data dissemination, community engagement, and public participation through portals like PRANA. (iv) Capacity Building: Strengthen the technical and administrative skills of local bodies and state pollution control boards.
Under the NCAP, funds are directly released to city local bodies (urban local bodies/municipal corporations) and implemented through coordinated state and city-level agencies rather than being spent via a single monolithic state-level treasury.
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