Srinagar air pollution rank falls to 26th, JKCAG urges action

SRINAGAR — The Jammu & Kashmir Climate Action Group (JKCAG) has urged legislators to raise concerns over Srinagar’s performance in the National Clean Air Survey 2026, which has ranked the city 26th among 39 Indian cities with populations of 10 lakh or more.

In a statement issued to the news agency KNS, JKCAG Chairman Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat termed the situation “very much alarming” and called for stringent measures to address air pollution in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar.

Bhat also sought an inquiry into the decline in Srinagar’s ranking, saying the city had fallen from fourth in the 2023 Swachh Vayu Survekshan to 26th in the latest survey.

“As per the 2023 Swachh Vayu Survekshan, Srinagar city was at rank 4th and was counted among the country’s top-performing cities vis-a-vis air pollution, but the situation has degraded so much that we came down to 26th rank. This needs an in-depth inquiry and probe,” Bhat said.

He attributed the deterioration to several factors, including open burning of municipal solid waste by sanitation staff, the absence of adequate dust-control mechanisms, an increase in outside vehicles, alleged illegal cement plants and stone crushers, inadequate management of construction and demolition waste, and a lack of public awareness campaigns on air pollution.

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“Last year the Air Quality Index touched almost 300, and this autumn and early winter would be terrible. The government has to act and MLAs must put pressure on authorities,” the statement read.

According to the report, Srinagar scored 162.6 points and was placed 26th among cities with populations above 10 lakh. Delhi was ranked 21st with 172 points.

Lucknow topped the ranking, followed by Indore, Jabalpur and Bhopal, the report said.

The Swachh Vayu Survekshan was initiated in 2023 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and is conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi.