Pollution — Air, Water, Soil, Marine

GS Paper: GS Paper III | Subject: Environment | Last updated: 2026-07-22

Prelims

Cabinet-approved 2-year scheme to cut air pollution in Delhi-NCR
Total outlay: ₹9,585 crore | Centre: ₹5,041 cr | State tax concessions: ~₹1,601 cr
Targets: 1.91 lakh trucks + 16,329 buses (~2.07 lakh owners) with BS-IV or older engines
Upgrade path: BS-III/IV → BS-VI or EV; Delhi: light goods vehicles must be electric only
Nodal body: NCRPB (National Capital Region Planning Board) under MoHUA
Implementing: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways + Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Centre's incentives: 5% interest subvention (5 yrs) + fuel vouchers (up to ₹4,800/month)
State incentives: Up to 100% motor vehicle tax waiver for new vehicles (10 years)
BS-III or older: Mandatory scrapping at registered vehicle scrapping facilities
NCR = Delhi + Haryana + Rajasthan + Uttar Pradesh
Added detail (Indian Express, 04-06-2026): Government vehicles are excluded from the scheme; BS-IV vehicles may be scrapped OR sold outside NCR (in non-NCAP cities), while only BS-III/older must be compulsorily scrapped; in Delhi, buses replaced under the scheme must be BS-VI CNG or electric

Effective from October 1, 8 UP NCR districts
Districts: Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Shamli
1,041 ANPR cameras at petrol pumps to detect invalid PUC certificates
Naya Safar scheme: EV/BS-VI/CNG promotion in UP; 975 electric buses planned
UP air quality target: 30–35% pollution reduction this year

A peer-reviewed study (npj Clean Air) finds surface ozone reaches 85–110 µg/m³ in northern India during heatwaves, exceeding the WHO guideline of 70 µg/m³ in every region; levels fall back 3–4 days after a heatwave
Surface ("ground-level") ozone is a secondary pollutant — not emitted directly; it forms when sunlight drives reactions among precursors (NOₓ, VOCs, formaldehyde), faster in heat; harmful to heart & lungs
Study links ~26,500 deaths (ischaemic heart disease + COPD) to ozone across the 2024 season, ~830 of them attributable to the heatwave spike; 188 heatwave events in two decades (worst 2010/2016/2019/2024, post-El Niño); Western Himalayas saw the steepest long-term rise

The number of polluted river stretches in India declined to 296 in 2025, from 351 in 2018, according to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report
Stated causes of river pollution: untreated or partially treated sewage, industrial effluents, inadequate dilution (low environmental flow), dumping of solid waste, and non-point sources of pollution
Concept to attach: CPCB identifies polluted river stretches by monitoring Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as the principal indicator of organic pollution, and grades stretches into priority classes I–V (Priority I being the most polluted). The dominant contributor nationally is domestic sewage, not industry — which is why the policy lever is STP capacity and utilisation, and why "inadequate dilution" matters (a river with reduced flow cannot assimilate the same load)

Only 8.4% of total corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending was allocated to environmental initiatives in FY 2023-24, per a Sattva Consulting report
The distributional finding, which is the sharper point: 30 of India's 50 most climate-vulnerable districts received only 1% (Rs 106 crore) of total environmental CSR spending over the past three years — i.e. CSR environmental money flows away from the places most exposed to climate risk, presumably tracking corporate presence rather than need
Statutory context: CSR is mandatory under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 — companies above specified thresholds of net worth/turnover/net profit must spend at least 2% of average net profits of the preceding three financial years; Schedule VII lists permissible activities, which include environmental sustainability and conservation of natural resources
Use it for: climate finance and adaptation gaps, the limits of voluntary/mandated private finance for public goods, and why adaptation funding (unlike mitigation) has no natural commercial constituency

Multi-ministry, multi-state challenge: Air pollution in NCR involves Delhi + 3 states + 3 ministries → NCRPB as coordination node is crucial; shows how federalism and cooperative governance can work on environmental issues
Demand-side vs supply-side: This scheme targets vehicle replacement (demand-side); complemented by 'No PUC No Fuel' (enforcement/compliance). Both needed together
EV push significance: Mandatory electric vehicles for light goods in Delhi aligns with India's 2030 non-fossil capacity target (500 GW) and reduces import dependence on fossil fuels
Vehicle scrappage policy link: BS-III vehicles mandatorily scrapped → accelerates fleet modernisation, reduces pollution, boosts auto sector demand (new vehicle purchases)
Art. 21 angle: Right to clean air is a fundamental right under Art. 21 (Supreme Court rulings). State has obligation to act on air quality; this scheme is a positive constitutional obligation fulfillment
Critique: Scheme benefits only commercial vehicle owners; personal vehicles not covered. 2.07 lakh vehicles is a small fraction of total NCR vehicle fleet. BS-VI transition ≠ zero emission
UPSC angle: Environment + Governance + Economy intersection; NCRPB as a planning body; cooperative federalism in action; EV policy as climate action

Unlike PM2.5, ground-level ozone gets little policy attention despite breaching WHO limits nationwide and worsening in heatwaves — a climate–air-quality–health nexus (a hotter climate makes more ozone). Sparse ground data forced the study to model mortality → the case for dedicated ozone monitoring (CAAQMS) and controlling its precursors (NOₓ/VOCs) alongside particulate matter under the NCAP
UPSC angle: secondary pollutants, NAAQS vs WHO guidelines, climate–health interactions, air-quality monitoring, National Clean Air Programme