CAQM issues C&D waste rules: Collection points every 5 sq km

According to the directives, municipal bodies and development authorities must establish waste collection and processing facilities, ensuring that at least one collection point exists every 5 sqkm within their jurisdiction, in accordance with the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2025.

New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management on Friday issued statutory directives to civic authorities across Delhi-NCR for the effective management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, stating that large-scale construction and demolition activities in the region contributed significantly to PM2.5 and PM10 levels in the air.

The directives will come into effect from April 1, 2026. (HT)

The directives will come into effect from April 1, 2026.

According to the directives, municipal bodies and development authorities must establish waste collection and processing facilities, ensuring that at least one collection point exists every 5 sqkm within their jurisdiction, in accordance with the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2025.

These directives instruct building plan approving authorities to obtain a declaration of the estimated C&D waste from projects involving demolition, reconstruction, or construction covering 200 sqm or more, prior to approving the building plan.

For such projects, municipal bodies and development authorities must ensure that the project proponent dumps waste only at a designated collection point, storage facility, or processing facility, and must take the receipt for the same.

The directives add that the agencies responsible for issuing completion certificates and occupation certificates must verify the waste deposition receipts before issuing the certificates.

Municipal bodies and development authorities will also be responsible for ensuring the transportation and safe disposal of the C&D waste in accordance with the directives.

State governments and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) have been instructed to ensure the establishment of an integrated web portal, the geo-tagging of waste collection points, and the GPS tracking of C&D waste, in order to enable implementation of the above directions.

A CAQM spokesperson said the decision was made after the commission observed that C&D dust was consistently contributing to particulate matter levels in NCR’s air quality, despite existing statutory directions.