The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has found high levels of dust on 15 major road stretches across Delhi during a fresh inspection drive.
The commission prompted strict directions to multiple agencies, including the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).
The findings, part of “Operation Clean Air,” underline that road dust remains one of the capital’s most stubborn and widespread sources of pollution.
The inspections were carried out on December 8 by 22 CAQM flying squads. They examined 79 road stretches, took geo-tagged and time-stamped photographs and submitted a consolidated report. The results showed that despite repeated directives and ongoing enforcement under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), several agencies continue to lag in basic dust-control measures.
According to the report, 15 stretches recorded high visible dust levels, 36 showed moderate dust and 22 showed low dusts.
Only six stretches had no visible dust at all. The poorest performance came from DDA’s stretches. Out of 57 roads inspected under its jurisdiction, 12 were marked high-dust, 27 moderate and 16 low. Only two stretches showed no dust.
The Commission said the data clearly shows that DDA needs to strengthen cleaning and mechanical sweeping, particularly on roads with repeated dust accumulation.
Among the 10 DMRC stretches inspected, none fell in the high-dust category. Two stretches had no visible dust, three recorded low dust and four were marked moderate. While DMRC performed better than others, the Commission said regular dust-suppression measures must continue.
For DSIIDC, out of 12 inspected roads, three were found to have high-dust levels, four moderate, three low and two no dust. The agency has been told to increase vigilance and improve on-ground compliance.
The flying squads also re-inspected earlier-checked roads maintained by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The Commission noted that MCD had reduced its high-dust category stretches by almost 50% after previous directions. However, 18 of the 35 re-inspected stretches still remained in the high-dust category. NDMC’s single re-inspected road also continued to record high dust.
The CAQM said the re-inspection findings make it clear that both civic bodies need to reinforce their dust-control efforts. It stressed that improvements must be visible across all stretches, not just a few.
The Commission said road dust continues to significantly push up Delhi’s PM10 and PM2.5 levels. It reiterated that agencies must ensure regular mechanical sweeping, prompt removal of collected dust, proper maintenance of road shoulders and central verges, and frequent deployment of water-sprinkling and dust-suppression systems.
