UP’s clean air management gets ₹198 crore push

The state government on Thursday allocated ₹198 crore for the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Project (UPCAMP), which prioritises actions to reach air quality targets in the 2024 to 2030 timeframe in Uttar Pradesh.

Also, ₹49.9 crore was earmarked for Uttar Pradesh Forestry and Horticulture University (UPFHU) coming up in Gorakhpur, along with ₹90.15 lakh for revenue expenditure of the university.

The UPCAMP is a six-year project that includes real-time air quality monitoring stations (AQMS), biogas, the introduction of solar power as fuel for cooking stoves, air quality curriculum for students, and data analysis of air quality.

The UPCAMP will add to the existing infrastructure of 169 AQMS. As many as 193 new continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) will be established, and roads near the identified CAAQMS will be repaired.

An app, ‘Samir’, will also be developed for the monitoring of real-time air quality data. Also, three “super sites” will be constructed under the supervision of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

Airshed management helps reduce air pollution and improve air quality by addressing pollution at a regional level. It creates similar air quality across the area it covers. It can create similar air quality for everyone within a geographic area. The UPCAMP has been planned along the same lines.

The rural development department will distribute biofuel-based stoves to 35 lakh families in the state and major funding will be managed via carbon credit. If the cost of a stove is over the carbon credit gained by the state, the remaining cost will be borne by the beneficiary.

Commenting on the Budget, forest minister Arun K Saxena said, “This year, too, we plan to plant 35 crore saplings in the state. Also, Uttar Pradesh Forestry and Horticulture University will come up in Gorakhpur and it will give a boost to research activities.”

What is airshed management

Airshed management is a strategy to reduce air pollution by identifying and managing pollutants. Several departments such as industry development, MSME, export promotion, urban development, transport, rural development, agricultural, agriculture education and research, animal husbandry, medical, family planning, alternative energy, vocational training, higher education, industry training, will come together under the project. Long-term shed management planning will be part of the airshed management programme in the state.