MCD sat on clean air funds worth Rs 29 crore as Delhi suffocated, reveals RTI

Even as Delhi continues to choke on hazardous air, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has left more than Rs 28.77 crore of its National Clean Air Programme funds unspent over the past two years, according to an RTI reply.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) began the 2023–24 financial year with Rs 26.6 crore in hand from previous allocations, according to the utilisation certificates submitted by the corporation to the Union Environment Ministry and accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

During that year, Delhi received an additional Rs 8.93 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), taking the total available funds to over Rs 35.3 crore.

However, the documents show that only Rs 5.19 crore were utilised in 2023–24,

leaving Rs 30.11 crore unspent by the end of March 2024.

In the following fiscal year (2024–25), Delhi started with that unspent amount and earned an interest of around Rs 75 lakh, bringing the total available funds to Rs 30.8 crore.

Yet, by March 2025, just Rs 1.34 crore had been spent, leaving a staggering Rs 29.5 crore idle, according to the reply.

Under NCAP, Delhi was expected to carry out several key interventions — ranging from dust control through mechanised road cleaning and water sprinklers to the installation of air quality monitoring stations, green buffers, and waste management improvements.

However, inspection details included in the RTI reply reveal that implementation on the ground level was “not that much effectively” carried out, and utilisation of NCAP funds “needs to be increased”.

The reply also highlights delays in uploading city-level progress data on the PRANA portal, which tracks the implementation of NCAP activities nationwide.

The RTI records show that many of Delhi’s commitments under the ‘Air Quality Challenge Method’ — a reform-linked framework determining future funding — remain incomplete.

For instance, the city has not registered under the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of Plastic Waste Management Rules, and E-waste collection centres have not been notified on the official portal, despite the requirement.

Meanwhile, critical vehicular pollution measures — such as establishing automated testing stations and vehicle scrapping facilities — are yet to be operationalised.

The RTI application was filed by Noida-based environmentalist Amit Gupta.

The national capital has been battling severe air pollution for several days. On Tuesday, Delhi’s AQI first entered the ‘severe’ category — a level that can impact even healthy individuals — after crossing 400.

The city continued to record ‘severe’ air quality until Thursday, before a slight improvement pushed it into the ‘very poor’ category on Friday.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.