The announcement was made during a meeting of the governing committee for the project, which Prasad chaired on Monday, according to an official statement.
Prasad described the project as a comprehensive, ten-year initiative funded by the World Bank.
He highlighted the importance of a collective effort from all stakeholders to effectively combat air pollution.
The project has three primary focus areas aimed at thoroughly addressing air pollution.
The first phase will enhance Haryana's air quality monitoring infrastructure. This will include the creation of a state-of-the-art laboratory and updating four existing ones. A programme management unit will also be established to ensure effective implementation.
Training programmes for stakeholders involved in air quality management will also be part of the initiative.
"Recognising the multifaceted sources of air pollution, the project allocates the bulk of its resources to directly address the issues of transportation, industry, construction and road dust, biomass burning and household pollution through sectoral interventions," the official statement said.
The project aims to promote the use of cleaner vehicles by electrifying public transportation fleets for both intra-city and inter-city travel. It also looks to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) for private use, particularly three-wheelers and four-wheeler taxis.
To phase out older, more polluting vehicles, higher incentives for scrapping them in favor of EVs will be offered. A model for setting up automated testing stations (ATS) will also be developed to monitor vehicle health.
Industries will be encouraged to switch to clean energy through financial incentives for clean fuels in boilers and retrofitting diesel generator sets to meet stricter emission standards.
The initiative will also focus on increasing green spaces within urban environments through the creation of biodiversity parks and green belts.
A significant part of the project will address stubble burning by promoting in-situ crop residue management practices. This will involve raising awareness about bio-decomposers to accelerate crop residue decomposition, thereby reducing the need for burning.
Prasad noted the substantial progress the Haryana government has made in strengthening its institutions for air quality measurement and monitoring.
The state has established four sample-testing laboratories. Additionally, 29 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQM) and 39 Manual Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (MAAQM) are operational across various districts.
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