The Congress on Sunday cited a report to claim that air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is "exceedingly ineffective and inadequate", as it demanded a thorough reform of the National Clear Air Programme. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the NCAP propagated as the National Clear Air Programme is actually another type of NCAP - "Notional Clear Air Programme". ADVERTISEMENTThe former environment minister said a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has now confirmed what was always India's "worst-kept secret that the air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is exceedingly ineffective and inadequate". Of these 130 cities, 28 still lack continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), he claimed. "The first step must be to acknowledge the public health crisis linked to air pollution across wide swathes of India.

Source: The Telegraph January 11, 2026 06:13 UTC