Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 Rankings

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• About Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
• Methodology for Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
• About Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023
• National Clean Air Programme

Why in News?

• Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav recently announced awards under the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 (clean air survey).

About Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan:

• In September 2022, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released guidelines on ‘Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan- Ranking of Cities’ under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• The aim of launching Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is to give ranking to 131 cities in the country for implementing City Action Plans prepared as part of NCAP for reducing air pollution up to 40% by 2025-26.

Methodology for Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan:

• 131 cities are categorized into three groups based on population.
  • 47 cities are in the first group having population more than 10 lakh.
  • 44 cities are in the second group having population between 3 to 10 lakh.
  • Third group consists of 40 cities having population less than 3 lakh.
• Cities are required to do the self-assessment as per the framework provided on PRANA online portal.
  • 'PRANA' is the acronym for Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment Cities.
• Major Components of Assessment –
  • solid waste management,
  • road dust management,
  • management of construction and demolition waste,
  • control of vehicular emissions and industrial pollution.
• 3 best performing cities in each group will be given cash award in the spirit of competitive federalism.
• This Sarvekshan provides a tool to cities to plan their actions in order to improve the air quality.
• Important Point to be Noted –
  • It is not based on the measurement of the air quality parameters to rank the cities.
  • It is based on the actions taken by the cities to improve the air quality in different domains.

About Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023:

• Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav recently announced awards under the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 (clean air survey).
• Under the 1st category (more than 10 lakh population) Indore ranked first followed by Agra and Thane.
  • Indore received the highest score of 187 out of 200.
• In second category (between 3-10 lakhs population), Amravati secured first rank followed by Moradabad and Guntur.
• Similarly, for third category (less than 3 lakhs population) Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh) secured first rank followed by Kala Amb (Himachal Pradesh) and Angul (Odisha).
• Scores were given in eight categories –
  • Biomass and municipal solid waste and burning,
  • Road dust,
  • Dust from construction and demolition waste,
  • Vehicular emissions,
  • Emissions from industries,
  • Other emissions,
  • IEC activities or public awareness,
  • Improvement in PM10 concentrations.
• The assessment was done based on submission of self-assessment report, along with supporting documents, by urban local bodies.
• In the 2022 survey, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Varanasi were ranked top 3 cities in the million plus population category. However, all three have been ranked lower this year.

National Clean Air Programme:

• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019, is India's flagship program for better air quality.
• It was launched as a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner.
• Goal: 20% to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as the base year.
• Under NCAP, 132 non-attainment cities have been identified across the country based on the Air Quality data from 2014-2018.
  • Non-attainment cities are those that have fallen short of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for over five years.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Q1) What is particle pollution?

Particle pollution — also called particulate matter (PM) — is made up of particles (tiny pieces) of solids or liquids that are in the air. These particles may include: Dust. Dirt.

Q2) What is the purpose of UNEP?

UNEP's mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Source: Indore tops clean air survey among cities with mn-plus people | PIB