Surat has been ranked as the top major city in India for air quality improvements followed by Jabalpur and Agra.

The Union Environment Ministry presented the “National Clean Air City” Awards during the Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 held at a national workshop celebrating the “International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies” in Jaipur on Saturday.

While Surat, Jabalpur and Agra secured the top three positions among cities with population of over 10 lakh, Firozabad (UP), Amravati (Maharashtra) and Jhansi (UP) were recognized as the best among cities with population between three lakh and 10 lakh.

Raebareli (UP), Nalgonda (Telangana) and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh) topped the list among the cities with populations under three lakh.

“Swachh Vayu Survekshan” is an initiative by the ministry to rank cities based on the implementation of activities approved under the city action plan and air quality in cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

These cities were awarded for significant improvements in air quality through various best practices to reduce air pollution. Key activities included paving roads, promoting mechanical sweeping, bioremediation of legacy waste, solid waste management, converting reclaimed land from dumpsites into green spaces, greenbelt development, intelligent traffic management systems and Miyawaki afforestation.

India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 with a target to reduce particulate pollution by 20-30 per cent by 2024 using 2017 as the base year. The target was later revised to a 40 per cent reduction by 2026 using 2019-20 as the base year.

The programme currently covers only 131 non-attainment cities -- those which consistently failed to meet national ambient air quality standards between 2011 and 2015.

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