Snubbed last year, Madurai corpn earns Rs13.5cr NCAP grant
Madurai: Madurai corporation has been allocated 13.5 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for 2025-26 by the Union environment ministry. The civic body, which missed out on funds last year for failing to meet pollution reduction targets, qualified this time after bringing down particulate matter levels significantly.
According to corporation officials, the real-time air-quality stations in the city show the average concentration of coarse particulate matter (PM10) dipped from 63 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in March 2024 to 53 µg/m³ this March, while the finer and more harmful PM2.5 fell from 30 µg/m³ to 25 µg/m³. Though still above the national annual limits—60 µg/m³ for PM10 and 40 µg/m³ for PM2.5—the improvement met the threshold set by the central govt.
Speaking to TOI, corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan said that most of this year's grant will be channelled into "end-to-end, dust-free" resurfacing of key roads. "Better carriageways mean fewer potholes and less loose soil, which directly cuts the dust that shows up in our PM10 readings," she said. Only a small share will go to parks, as the civic body plans to tap other schemes for green spaces, the commissioner added.
A senior corporation engineer added that a large number of underground drainage and drinking water pipeline works were completed in many wards. "Since most of the digging-related civic works are over, the particulate matter has reduced compared to last year and this is the right time to take up permanent road laying, which will help keep dust under control in the long term," he said.
Under NCAP guidelines, corporation must spend the entire grant and log another five-point fall in particulate levels by March 2026 to stay eligible for next year's tranche.
M Raj Kumar, a civic activist, said that end-to-end road paving is most needed for the city as many roads lack it and the NCAP fund should be fully utilised for it rather than spending it on other activities. He also said that corporations should enlist a plan to control air pollution levels every year so that they don't miss out on funds.
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