New Delhi The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Thursday said it has constituted a committee led by IIT Kanpur to review the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
In order to protect public health and environment from air pollution, National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 12 pollutants were notified in 2009, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
“There is a continuous process of reviewing the existing standards as well as incorporating new standards with the advancement in scientific research,” the minister said.
The minister further said that the government has launched the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) as a national level strategy to reduce the level of air pollution across the country.
NCAP aims to meet the set annual average ambient air quality standards across the country in a stipulated time frame. Accordingly, the list of non-attainment cities i.e. cities exceeding national standards is updated annually for five consecutive years and such cities are directed to prepare and implement city action plans to improve air quality.
He said that a city specific Clean Air Action Plan has been prepared under NCAP and it is being implemented in many cities of the country.
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