CAQM directs MCD to continue legacy dust removal campaign

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday reviewed the progress of its special campaign to remove legacy dust across all 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) zones and directed civic authorities to continue the exercise on a sustained basis with periodic monitoring instead of treating it as a one-time drive

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday reviewed the progress of its special campaign to remove legacy dust across all 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) zones and directed civic authorities to continue the exercise on a sustained basis with periodic monitoring instead of treating it as a one-time drive.

CAQM directs MCD to continue legacy dust removal campaign

The review meeting, chaired by CAQM member secretary Tarun Kumar Pithode, assessed the efficacy of dust mitigation measures such as mechanised road sweeping, manual cleaning, water sprinkling, removal of accumulated dust and debris, deployment of sanitation workers and on-ground monitoring. Officials from all 12 MCD zones presented updates on implementation, achievements and operational challenges.

“The special campaign for removal of legacy dust should continue as a sustained and phased exercise, with continuous monitoring and regular maintenance rather than as a one-time initiative. All zones have been directed to maintain the momentum of the campaign, strengthen inter-agency coordination and address identified gaps in a timebound manner,” said a CAQM official, asking not to be named.

Data presented during the review showed significant variation in the scale of the campaign across MCD zones. Between January 1 and July 26, Rohini zone reported the highest road coverage, with 24,486km cleaned and 2,950.4 metric tonnes (MT) of legacy dust removed.

Outer North zone followed with 8,057km of roads covered and 948.66 MT of dust removed. In contrast, Civil Lines reported the lowest quantity of legacy dust removed at 95.65 MT. South zone covered the shortest road length, about 5km a day during its month-long campaign, though it removed 623.49 MT of legacy dust.

During the review, MCD officials flagged challenges such as the inability of mechanical road sweepers to operate on narrow roads due to parked vehicles, repeated dust deposition caused by irrigation overflow, lack of end-to-end paving and continued littering.

CAQM also asked agencies to intensify public awareness campaigns, train sanitation workers, prioritise road paving and greening, and undertake landscaping with soil-trapping plant species to reduce dust re-suspension.