Environment ministry officials said the WHO’s findings were embarrassing but not surprising.
“It hurts India’s image, hurts the India story, hurts tourism, hurts medical tourism,” said one official, ruing that fewer than 30 cities had an action plan ready to fight air pollution.
“India will eventually overcome the problem, but my frustration is with the timeline.”
The ministry could spend about 7 billion rupees ($105 million) this fiscal year to help cities set up air-quality monitoring systems and buy equipment like water-sprinklers to settle dust, said the officials, who declined to be identified, citing government policy.