Uttar Pradesh launches clean air plan to reduce pollution
Lucknow: The department of environment, forest and climate change (DOEFCC) on Monday launched the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Plan (UCAP), India's first state-level clean air strategy grounded in scientific analysis and an airshed-based approach.
The plan was released by principal secretary Anil Kumar at an event held in Lucknow on Monday.
It was attended by senior state officials and representatives from the World Bank.
The UCAP is a first-of-its-kind plan in India, developed through scientific modelling and data from Uttar Pradesh's own emissions inventory. It provides a 10-year roadmap to reduce PM2.5 levels by targeting key sources such as household emissions from cooking with solid fuels, transport, industries, and agriculture.
Moving beyond city-level plans, UCAP introduces an airshed management approach, recognising that air pollution often travels between urban and rural areas.
A key pillar supporting the implementation of UCAP is the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Project (UPCAMP), expected to be financed by a USD 320 loan from the World Bank.
UPCAMP focuses on strengthening airshed institutional mechanisms for long-term planning, expanding air quality monitoring networks, and piloting innovative clean air measures like tunnel kiln technology, state-of-the-art supersites, and AI-enabled Decision Support System (DSS) to track pollution trends, among others.
With the launch of the UP State Clean Air Plan, Uttar Pradesh is leading the way in science-based, multi-sectoral clean air action and setting a strong precedent for other Indian states to follow, said an official.
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