Pune’s annual average PM10 concentration rose to a seven-year high of 101 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025-26, well above the national standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, despite the city spending 66% of the funds allocated for air pollution control over the past seven years. The Pune Air Action Hub’s air pollution inventory identifies road dust as a major contributor to the city’s PM10 pollution, raising questions about the effectiveness of measures undertaken by the civic administration.
Despite these interventions, dust generated by construction activities, road works and urban expansion, as well as settled dust being resuspended by moving vehicles, continues to pose a challenge. Experts have called for pollution-control measures to be assessed against measurable improvements in air quality rather than the amount of money spent. However, metro construction, road widening, concretisation and other construction activities continue to generate dust, contributing to PM10 pollution. He also called for a review of air quality monitoring data, including the location of monitoring stations, measurement methods, frequency of observations and prevailing weather conditions, to ensure that the impact of pollution-control measures is assessed accurately.
According to the Centre’s Portal for Regulation of Air Pollution in Non-Attainment Cities (PRANA), Pune received ₹ 9.45 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and ₹ 409 crore under the 15th Finance Commission. The National Clean Air Programme, launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in January 2019, aims to improve air quality in 131 cities that do not meet national ambient air quality standards. He said the increased use of BS-VI vehicles, cleaner fuels and electric buses, along with a possible reduction in emissions from open waste burning and solid-fuel use, may have helped bring down PM2.5 levels.
Dr Rakesh Kumar, president of the Society for Indoor Environment, said Pune’s pollution profile could be changing, with dust becoming a more prominent concern even as emissions from combustion sources may have declined. Sharmila Dev, a member of the Pune Air Action Hub, said the effectiveness of pollution-control spending should be assessed through outcomes rather than expenditure figures alone.
He stressed the need to improve construction practices, ensure that road-cleaning equipment is operated and maintained effectively, and adopt interventions suited to local conditions.
Kumar said water sprinkling and mechanical road sweeping had not delivered the expected results at the required scale.
