Comprehensive clean air action plan for Muzaffarpur
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which proposes strategies to reduce air pollution. The NCAP identifies 122 non-attainment Indian cities [cities that violate the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)]. Muzaffarpur is one of the 20 most polluted cities in the world (WHO, 2019) in terms of particulate matters (PM) and has also been identified as one of the non-attainment cities under NCAP. In this context, a clean air action plan was prepared under which an emission inventory was developed for Muzaffarpur. Muzaffarpur Clean Air Action Plan (MCAAP) identified source-specific Control Measures (CMs) and performed a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) of the CMs. This helped to identify technically and economically feasible solutions/technologies to reduce pollution levels in Muzaffarpur. Moreover, several focused group discussions with various stakeholders were also conducted to understand the pollution landscape in the city. Workshops were conducted as a part of the study, to discuss and validate the findings.
