Gurugram air plan: 4 hotspots eased, AQI still above target

Only 4 of 8 planned traffic hotspots addressed so far; more junctions set for decongestion as agencies verify 51 km of road repairs across city.

As part of efforts to improve air quality, officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) have prepared a review report on the city’s clean air action plan till March, which will be submitted to the Commission for Air Quality and Management on Thursday.

Five new air monitoring stations proposed by December, while authorities plan stricter action on dust, waste burning and pollution complaints. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

The “action taken report,” seen by HT, outlines measures implemented since January. It shows that congestion has been reduced at four of 39 identified traffic hotspots, while the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) conducted 150 inspections to check the use of diesel generator (DG) sets. Authorities also completed recarpeting of 35 km of roads, finalised locations for 20 EV charging stations, and signed a letter of agreement with a private firm to procure 100 electric buses.

According to the report, HSPCB is preparing a proposal to install five new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) units in the city by December. “Letters have been issued to the statelevel’s high-powered committee in this regard,” a senior HSPCB official said, requesting anonymity.

The original plan had identified eight hotspots for phased decongestion by March. “The authorities will implement traffic streamlining measures at Signature Tower, JMD Cut, Sector 4/7 cut, and outside Modern Bazar near Mayfield Gardens in the coming weeks,” a senior official said, requesting anonymity.

To reduce vehicular emissions, a letter of agreement was signed between the Department of State Transport and PMI Electro Mobility Solutions on March 31. “Following a concessionaire agreement within the next four weeks and a prototype trial, the buses will be rolled out in a phased manner starting from July,” a senior official at the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) said, requesting anonymity.

The report shows that the city bus service met its ridership targets in January (1.55 million) and February (1.4 million) but fell short by around 0.11 million in March against a target of 1.55 million. “Twenty-five electric charging points at the under-construction bus stand in Sector 48 and another 20 EV chargers across Gurugram are currently in the pipeline,” the official added.

Officials said verification is underway for 51 km of road recarpeting across agencies including the MCG, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Public Works Department (PWD). “A list of complaints regarding air pollution, road dust and waste fires is being prepared. Based on segregated data, measures will be introduced at identified hotspots,” said Pradeep Kumar, executive engineer at MCG.

The plan targets a 10% reduction in annual average AQI to 178 in 2026 from 183 in 2025. However, the city recorded an average AQI of 260 between January and March, as per Central Pollution Control Board data on the Sameer App.