Haryana govt to launch US$ 1.2 billion (Rs. 10,000 crore) project to combat air pollution

Haryana Chief Secretary Mr. T.V.S.N. Prasad announced the launch of the US$ 1.2 billion (Rs. 10,000 crore) Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development, funded by the World Bank to address air pollution. The project will be implemented in phases, beginning with districts in the National Capital Region (NCR) and extending across the entire state. This ten-year initiative aims to enhance Haryana's air quality monitoring infrastructure, establish a state-of-the-art laboratory, modernize four existing labs, and create a program management unit to oversee the project's implementation. Training programs for stakeholders involved in air quality management will also be conducted.

The project focuses on reducing pollution from transportation, industry, construction, road dust, biomass burning, and household sources. Key initiatives include promoting electric vehicles (EVs) for public and private use, incentivizing the scrapping of older, polluting vehicles, and designing automated testing stations for vehicle health monitoring. Industries will be encouraged to switch to clean energy through financial incentives, and urban areas will see an increase in green spaces with biodiversity parks and green belts. Efforts to combat stubble burning will involve promoting in-situ crop residue management and raising awareness about bio-decomposers to reduce the need for burning. He highlighted Haryana's progress in air quality measurement by establishing four state sample-testing laboratories, 29 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (CAAQM) stations, and 39 Manual Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (MAAQM) stations across different districts.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.