The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) envisages reduction in PM10 level up to 40 per cent or achievement of national standards (60 microgram/cubic metre) by 2025-26.
Due to efforts made under the programme, 97 of 130 cities have shown improvement in air quality in terms of annual PM10 concentrations in FY 2023-24 with respect to the levels of FY 2017-18.
A total of 55 cities have achieved a reduction of 20 per cent and above in PM10 levels in 2023-24 with respect to the levels of 2017-18. Eighteen cities have met National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM10 (60 μg/m3) in FY 2023-24, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said.
The Union environment ministry has re-published the draft notification on Ecologically Sensitive Area of Western Ghats on July 31 in order to protect the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats region, Yadav told the Lok Sabha.
The draft notification is based on the report submitted by the High Level Working Group (HLWG).
The Western Ghats is spread over an area of 56,825 square kilometres across six states, namely, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The Kerala government had submitted a revised proposal on November 2, 2024, requesting the declaration of a 8,590.69 sq km area across 98 villages spread over 29 talukas in 12 districts as ‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’ based on the verification of the suggestions received from the Local Self Government Department.
Emissions from the agriculture sector in 2019 were 420.97 million tonnes CO2 equivalent as per the Third National Communication (TNC) report submitted by India to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2023.
Despite increase in agricultural production, the share of emissions from the sector have progressively decreased in the last two decades, from 23 per cent in 2000 to 18 per cent in 2010 to 13.44 per cent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2019, Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the Lok Sabha.
The emissions per ton of food grains produced have generally declined but emissions per hectare of food grains production have risen due to increased use of fertilisers in recent years, Singh added.
The number of human deaths due to elephant attacks have been on the rise. In 2023-24, a total of 628 human deaths due to elephant attacks were reported. In 2022-23, the number was 610, Singh told the Lok Sabha.
Some 33.6 per cent of the Indian coastline is under erosion, 26.9 per cent is under accretion (growing) and 39.6 per cent is in a stable state, as per the National Centre for Coastal Research, (NCCR) study, Singh told the Lok Sabha.
In Karnataka, around 50 per cent of the Karnataka coast is in stable condition, 26 per cent and 24 per cent is under accretion and erosion respectively, he added.
The Union environment ministry has enhanced the amount of ex-gratia relief in case of death or permanent incapacitation due to wild animal attacks during December 2023 from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats.
The fund sharing ratio under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme between the central government and state government is 60:40, except for north-eastern and Himalayan states where it is 90:10, Singh told the Lok Sabha.