Srinagar, Sep 13 (KNS) : The Jammu & Kashmir Climate Action Group (JKCAG) has appealed to all legislators to raise the issue of the National Clean Air Survey 2026 (Swachh Vayu Survekshan), which has ranked Srinagar 26th among 39 Indian cities with a population of 10 lakh or more.

In a statement issued to KNS, JKCAG Chairman Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat termed the situation "very much alarming" and demanded stringent measures to tackle growing air pollution in J&K, especially Srinagar. He also sought fixing of responsibility to ascertain how the city's air pollution graph plummeted from rank 4th to 26th in just three years.

"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 listed open burning of municipal solid waste by sanitation staff across J&K, absence of a dust control mechanism, mushroom growth of outside vehicles, illegal cement plants and stone crushers, lack of a construction and demolition waste management system, and no public awareness drives on air pollution as major contributors to the problem.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

"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.

The latest survey report is alarming as Srinagar is now behind Delhi in air quality. Delhi, which has long made headlines with toxic winter smog and features among India's most persistent air-pollution cities, secured the 21st rank with 172 points, while Srinagar scored 162.6 points to sit at 26th among cities with over 10 lakh population. According to the survey, Lucknow ranks number one, followed by Indore, Jabalpur and Bhopal.

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