Pollution patrol: Inside new drive to uncover Delhi’s dust

The programme aims to tackle dust pollution and other localised sources along nearly 18,000 km of roads in the Capital.

At the crack of dawn, 32-year-old Gourav Sonkaria was already on his scooter—his face covered with an N95 mask and a water bottle and a power bank on his person—as he headed from his residence in Karol Bagh to northwest Delhi’s Model Town to log sources of roadside pollution in the area.

Each surveyor will cover a Delhi district in phases and log information on dispersed sources of pollution along roads in the MCD’s 311 app, enabling agencies to take action in real time. (HT/ Representative)

Inducted as one of 13 government surveyors on Friday under the Road RADAR (Real-time Air Pollution Detection Across Roads) programme, Sonkaria is tasked with identifying dust mounds, potholes, broken footpaths, construction and demolition(C&D) waste, and solid waste dumped in the open, among others.

HT accompanied Sonkaria on Saturday morning, as he went through the exercise. Starting from his house at around 5.30 AM, Sonkaria reached the “start point” designated by his supervisors at around 6.30 AM to begin his eight-hour exercise.

The programme aims to tackle dust pollution and other localised sources along nearly 18,000 km of roads in the Capital. Each surveyor will cover a district in phases and log information on dispersed sources of pollution along roads in the MCD’s 311 app, enabling agencies to take action in real time.

Sonkaria said that all surveyors are required to share location updates through WhatsApp with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), despite the vehicles being fitted with GPS tracking equipment. As he reaches his zone of supervision, Sonkaria sharpens his gaze on sources of pollution.

The first stop, at 6.37am, was on a stretch of the GT Karnal Road on the Shakti Nagar side, where Sonkaria spotted a pile of municipal solid waste attracting cattle. Behind the municipal waste was also a mound of C&D waste. Sonkaria immediately opens the 311 app, clicks photographs and tags the sources of pollution.

“The idea is to click a wide frame, so that it is easier for officials to identify the area. While the photographs are geotagged, we have been given instructions to properly identify landmarks and take wide frames so redressal is easier,” he said.

Throughout the day, Sonkaria noted 81 such aberrations and logged them in the app.

Delhi reported 20 organised crime cases, followed by Lucknow and Surat with nine cases each. According to the data, a total of 1,058 rape cases were reported in Delhi in 2024, followed by 497 cases in Jaipur and 411 cases in Mumbai. City-wise figures showed that the Capital recorded the highest number of crimes against women across metro cities at 13,396 cases. Mumbai lodged 6,358 cases and Bengaluru recorded 4,748 cases.