Air action plan gathering dust

LUCKNOW: The ''Comprehensive Air ActionPlan'' drawn up by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) following aSupreme Court ruling has been languishing since April, 2003, as the CM (who alsoholds the environment portfolio) is yet to decide on how it is to befinanced.For the past four months, the air action plan that wasdrawn up for the four most polluted cities in UP, namely Kanpur, Lucknow, Agraand Varanasi, has been languishing with the planning department of the stategovernment. This, when recently the Central Pollution Control Board named Kanpurand Lucknow as amongst the most highly polluted cities in the country.The plan was initially submitted to the state government inNovember, 2002, which sent it back to the UPPCB with recommendations. Once thesewere incorporated in the plan, UPPCB officials met the special secretary(environment), Government of India, in Delhi on April 21, 2003, with the plan.However, it was sent back, as it didn''t include the details offunding for the plan, which amounted to roughly Rs 460 crore for the fourcities. Besides, the centre-state sharing of this amount was also not includedat the time.Subsequently, the plan was sent to the state governmentfor working out funding modalities, but the future of the plan got stuck at thisstage around April-end. The Comprehensive Air Action Plan has amaximum gestation period of five years. Although projected under one parentplan, each of the four cities of Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra and Varanasi, has aseparate plan to tackle both generic and specific problems of airpollution.The plan for each of the four cities involves roughly15-17 business entities, civic bodies and government departments, which havetheir individual responsibilities entrusted to them with the expected impact, anestimate of the cost involved and a pre-set timeframe. For eachorganisation involved, there are short-term and long-term measures. The measuressuggested in the short-term action plan do not need financial support, as theymay be achieved with the help of the existing regulatory measures. However, thelong -term action plan requires a financial package. What is mostdamaging is that precious time is being wasted in the implementation of even theshort-term action plan, which does not require financing. The planinvolves conversion of all modes of public transport from petrol and diesel toCNG. Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation and the Gas Authority of India Ltdhave been contacted by the state and the Central governments to set up CNGoutlets in the four cities. Besides, the plan includes improvementof road infrastructure, re-routing of traffic flow, construction of flyovers,phasing out of old/polluting vehicles that are eight years'' old or more;clamping down on emission of industrial air pollutants, supply of cheap LPG forslum areas as household fuel and development of green belts, amongst otheraction points.