NCR air pollution: Act against erring officials, says Union minister

New Delhi: Amid worsening air quality in the Capital and neighbouring states, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday held a joint review meeting of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, calling them to make use of real-time monitoring through Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) and hold officials accountable for anti-air pollution violations on the ground

New Delhi: Amid worsening air quality in the Capital and neighbouring states, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday held a joint review meeting of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, calling them to make use of real-time monitoring through Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) and hold officials accountable for anti-air pollution violations on the ground.

Visibility was significantly affected in Ghaziabad’s Dasna early Saturday as thick smog and haze shrouded NH-9 (Sakib Ali/HT)

The minister also directed the nomination of secretary-level officials for seven cities in Haryana, four cities in UP and four in Rajasthan, and Delhi, tasking them with on-ground implementation of measures, alongside field visits.

“This data will have to be reported to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on a weekly basis. CAQM has been requested to issue notices to non-performing officers,” said Yadav, as quoted in an official release.

The meeting was attended by state environment ministers – Manjinder Singh Sirsa of Delhi, Rao Narbir Singh of Haryana and Arun Kumar Saxena of UP – and state pollution control board officials.

As winter begins, air quality in Delhi-NCR and other northern states worsens because cold air traps vehicle emissions, construction dust, and smoke from crop-waste burning.

Yadav said air pollution does not recognise state boundaries, calling for coordinated implementation of pollution control measures across NCR.

He also emphasised that Delhi and NCR states must install Automatic Number-Plate Recognition (ANPR), failing which CAQM will take action.

“All agencies must ensure strict implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) and need to adopt Delhi’s hotspot-focused winter action plan, covering traffic management, work-from-home measures, construction restrictions and prevention of open burning,” said Yadav.

He called for strict implementation of the ban on construction and demolition activities from November 5-20 across Delhi-NCR.

Road-owning agencies have been asked to prioritise pothole repairs, damaged footpaths, central verges, and end-to-end paving under the CAQM framework, along with AI-based videographic surveys.

“Mechanical road sweeping machines must be fully utilised and operated in double shifts, with digital tracking and AI-based monitoring,” Yadav said.

He called for states to focus on expediting the PARIVARTAN scheme – replacing pre-BS-6 trucks and buses with BS-6, CNG and electric vehicles by 2028. BS (I-VI) refers to vehicle emission standards, with BS-VI vehicles meeting the most stringent standards.