New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS): The Economic Survey 2021-22 tabled in the Parliament on Monday shows that Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were two states which were allotted the highest funds to tackle increasing air pollution under the government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019-20.

The NCAP was implemented in 132 cities to reduce air pollution.

As per the data, in 2019-20, the highest funds were allocated to Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra and Madhya Prades, while in 2020-21, the highest funds were released to Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal.

In 2019-20, Rs 48 crore was given to UP, Rs 40 crore to Maharashtra, and Rs 21 crore to Mahdya Pradesh to tackle air pollution.

In 2020-21, Andhra Pradesh was given Rs 17 crore, Punjab received Rs 15 crore while West Bengal got Rs 13 crore.

To tackle increasing air pollution in the country, the government in 2019 launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), under which funds are provided to all the states.

The main objective of NCAP is to help every state in keeping the air clean in a comprehensive manner with a target to achieve 20-30 per cent reduction in particulate matter (PM) concentration by 2024 across the country, keeping 2017 as the base year for the comparison of PM concentration.

The NCAP has been implemented in 132 cities, of which 124 have been identified based on non-conformity with national ambient air quality standards for five consecutive years.