Noida: The state govt on Sunday released its annual action plan for 2026, setting out city-wise targets to curb PM2.5 and 10 emissions across Noida, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida.
Under its annual plan, shared with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the state seeks to cut emissions in the three NCR cities to bring about a change in air quality index (AQI), which have seen a prolonged hazardous spell through the winter months this season. It also proposed to accelerate the rollout of electric bus networks, EV charging infrastructure and battery-swapping facilities, alongside repairing damaged roads and tightening dust-control measures.
For Noida, the plan noted a steady improvement in air quality over the last five years. The city's average AQI improved from 207 in 2021 to 198 in 2022, 188 in 2023, 184 in 2024, and 134 in 2025. The state has now set a PM10 target of 124 micrograms per cubic metre for 2026, down from 155 in 2025, 182 in 2024, 202 in 2023, 203 in 2022 and 197 in 2021.
It also noted the city recorded a 21% improvement in PM10 levels in 2025.
The plan, however, does not specify a PM2.5 target for this year, despite annual averages remaining well above safe limits.
PM2.5 levels in Noida stood at 98.9 micrograms per cubic metre in 2021 and improved to 72.8 in 2025. Under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards enforced by CAQM, the permissible annual limit for PM2.5 is 40 micrograms per cubic metre, far higher than the World Health Organisation's guideline that sets the safe limit at 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
Spread over 203 sq km, Noida was last week listed among the country's four most polluted cities for Jan, according to a monthly analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The report had ranked Ghaziabad as the most polluted city, with a monthly PM2.5 average of 184 micrograms per cubic metre, followed by Delhi at 169.
While the annual action plan identified the key pollution sources in Noida—1,086 industries, 396 construction sites and a dust-prone network of 176 km out of a total 1,143 km—it did not propose to expand its air quality monitoring stations from the existing four.
With vehicular emissions remaining a focus area, the action plan also emphasised expanding public transport, improving last-mile connectivity and accelerating the transition to cleaner mobility. It also pushed for a major scale-up of electric vehicle charging and battery-swapping infrastructure.
The city currently has 69 EV charging stations, 46% short of its target of 150. The plan set a target of adding the remaining 81 charging stations in phases over the year. It also said Noida would get its first 13 battery-swapping stations by the first quarter.
While the state govt pushed for improved last-mile connectivity from its metro corridor, the plan stopped short of fixing a target for the city's CNG and BS-VI buses network. Currently, Noida has 188 CNG buses and 66 BS-VI buses.
It also focused on wider deployment of mechanical road-sweeping machines, greening of central verges and pavements, and said that 80 training programmes would be held for staff engaged in road dust control this year.
The action plan for Greater Noida, which has 2,340 industries and 436 construction sites, stated that the city recorded a 34% reduction in PM10 levels in 2025 compared to the previous year. The report stated the city's average AQI was 220 in 2021 and improved significantly to 151 in 2025, and has given the authorities a target of bringing the AQI down to 100 this year.
The report noted that the average PM2.5 level improved from 96 in 2021 to 73 in 2025, and set a target of 60 this year, while PM10 levels are to be improved from 145 in 2025 to 100 in 2026.
While Greater Noida currently has two AQI monitoring stations, the state govt proposed to set up two more by the year-end. The city, it stated, has three EV charging stations and set a target to bridge a shortfall of 13 stations by 2026. It also proposed to redevelop a 263-km road network (of total 875 km) at an estimated cost of Rs 993 crore. While its public transport fleet includes 120 CNG buses and 20 BS-VI buses, the plan does not specify any plan to roll out any electric buses this year.
In Ghaziabad, which covers 210 sq km, the action plan recorded a gradual improvement but set more modest targets. The city's average AQI improved from 227 in 2021 to 176 in 2025, with a target of 163 in 2026. PM2.5 levels are to be brought down from 85 to 77, while PM10 levels are to be reduced from 175 to 158 this year.
Ghaziabad currently operates 50 electric buses, and the plan proposed to induct 1,100 more by 2030. It has 126 EV charging stations, with plans to add 324 more, along with 20 battery-swapping stations this year.
CAQM officials said that while these targets were set by the state govt, the commission would monitor and review the work progress.
Meanwhile, Amit Gupta, a resident of Prateek Wisteria Sector 77, wrote to CAQM asking why the action plan did not talk about issues like garbage burning, e-bus roadmap, neglect of green belts and NCAP funds.