World Bank sanctions $600 million for UP & Haryana projects that targets air pollution

The World Bank has sanctioned $299.66 million and $300 million respectively to finance two projects aimed at improving the air quality in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Clean Air Management Programme (UPCAMP) ($299.66 million) will build on the Government of UP's Clean Air Plan by investing in key sectors such as transport, agriculture and industry to improve air quality for its people. The programme will help 3.9 million households gain access to clean cooking. It will also encourage people to use clean transport by introducing 15,000 electric three-wheelers, and 500 electric-buses in the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur. The project will support UP government’s plans to provide incentives to replace13,500 polluting heavy-duty vehicles with lower emitting vehicles.

The Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development Operation ($300 million) will support the Government of Haryana’s Action Plan aimed at reducing air pollution through a combination of multisectoral interventions. The project will invest in air quality and emission monitoring systems to strengthen the state’s ability to better gauge the impact of various sources of pollution. The project will also support investments in clean transport such as electric bus services and electric three wheelers in the cities of Gurugram, Sonipat, and Faridabad. These, in turn, will offer seamless connectivity and access to more jobs – especially for women. The project will also support the state’s efforts for the adoption of cleaner technologies by MSMEs, and promotion of machineries and technologies for agriculture waste management, and productive reuse of paddy stubble.

“Air pollution is causing severe health impacts, loss of productivity and reduced quality of life across South Asia,” said Paul Procee, Acting Country Director, World Bank India. “These operations in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh represent the first airshed-based, multi-sectoral programs undertaken by state governments in India to tackle the complex challenge of reducing air pollution. The programs will also demonstrate how air quality initiatives can increase productivity and create green jobs, especially for youth and women.” 

The Uttar Pradesh programme has a final maturity of 10 years including a grace period of two years, and the Haryana programme has a final maturity of 23.5 years including a grace period of six years.

The two programmes are part of the World Bank’s Regional Air Quality Management Programme in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF), a global air pollution hotspot. The programmes will also receive grants from the World Bank’s Resilient Asia Programme — funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Swiss Government's Agency for Development and Cooperation — and the multi-donor Energy Sector Management Assessment Programme.