World Bank approves $600 mn to promote clean air in Haryana, UP

New Delhi: The World Bank on Thursday said the board of Executive Directors has approved financing of about USD 600 million for two programmes in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to help improve air quality for 270 million people, with clean air benefits spilling over to other states.

These programmes will also aim at further increasing the attractiveness of both states as business destinations and engines of job creation, the World Bank said in a statement.

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The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Clean Air Management Program (UPCAMP) (USD 299.66 million) will build on the UP government'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," it said.

The project will support the UP government's plans to provide incentives to replace 13,500 polluting heavy-duty vehicles with lower-emitting vehicles, it said.

The Haryana Clean Air Project for Sustainable Development Operation (USD 300 million) will support the Haryana government's Action Plan aimed at reducing air pollution through a combination of multi-sectoral interventions, it said.

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, it said.

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, it said.

These, in turn, will offer seamless connectivity and access to more jobs - especially for women, it said, adding that the project will also support the state's efforts for the adoption of cleaner technologies by MSMEs, and promotion of machinery and technologies for agriculture waste management, and productive reuse of paddy stubble.

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