Tejas Navale

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation has envisaged setting up an ambitious plan under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to significantly reduce the amount of polluting particles in the atmosphere and to induce measures to reduce the amount of hazardous gases in the air.

Additional Commissioner of Municipal Corporation Prithviraj B.P. gave information in this regard and stated that the proposal regarding it is currently at the draft level and will soon be implemented in the city once finalised. He said, "Pune is among some of the cities selected by the central government under NCAP. Under this scheme, we are aiming to reduce air pollution in Pune by 25 to 30 percent by 2026."

Prithviraj was talking about it after taking a review of the ongoing measures in Pune under the NCAP. He added, "Regarding NCAP, a study has been conducted twice in the past with the help of organisations from Pune and other places. Sooner, a plan will be prepared according to the findings of the study."

He also said that the municipality is also thinking of conducting some workshops in this regard. "Through this, we are aiming to control pollution in the city by increasing people's participation. Thus, it will also achieve the government's promise of inclusive governance," said Prithviraj.

The main focus of this plan will be on measuring pollution in the city. At present, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has put up air quality boards at some places in the city. Through this board, people understand the quality of the weather in that place with the help of sensors on it. However, the number of these boards is smaller.

On this, Prithviraj said, "We had discussed the matter with IITM, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), and other related organisations, and soon we are planning to install such boards in the area where there are none."

The air quality of the city is degrading day by day. Ultra-particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide are particularly responsible for the degradation of air quality. The large amount of dust generated in the city, along with pollution from vehicles, is exacerbating the given problem. As per the study, the amount of PM-10 components in dust is about 40 percent.