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RTI Finds MCD Left Rs 29 Crore in Clean-Air Funds Unused as Delhi Entered GRAP Stage III

The disclosure, drawn from MCD utilisation certificates obtained via RTI, coincides with 'severe' air quality that triggered Stage III GRAP.

Overview

  • Utilisation certificates show over Rs 28.77 crore in NCAP allocations lay idle across two years, according to an RTI filed by environmentalist Amit Gupta.
  • In 2023–24, MCD spent Rs 5.19 crore out of more than Rs 35.3 crore available, leaving Rs 30.11 crore unspent by March 31, 2024.
  • In 2024–25, only Rs 1.34 crore was used from roughly Rs 30.8 crore available with interest, leaving about Rs 29.5 crore idle by March 2025.
  • RTI records and a CPCB inspection flagged weak implementation, irregular monitoring committee meetings, delayed PRANA reporting, and incomplete reforms such as EPR registration, e‑waste centre notification, and automated vehicle testing and scrapping.
  • Delhi’s AQI touched 425 in the “severe” range, prompting the CAQM to activate Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan with construction curbs and restrictions on polluting vehicles.