Delhi-NCR air pollution hotspots will be reviewed and addressed through location-specific action plans after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to identify major emission sources in their NCR areas. The commission also asked Delhi to update its existing list of hotspots and submit a revised implementation plan.
The directions were issued in a letter dated August 24 and were disclosed in a report published on September 10. CAQM said the NCR states must identify pollution hotspots, assess the sources and scale of emissions, and outline measures to control them. Each hotspot action plan will also have to name a nodal officer responsible for implementing the measures.
“CAQM is working towards addressing air pollution at the local level through focused actions in identified hotspots. NCR state govts/GNCTD have been directed to develop hotspot-specific strategies and implementation plans for accelerated abatement of air pollution,” the commission said in a post on X.
Under Delhi’s 2023 pollution inventory, areas with annual average PM10 levels above 300 micrograms per cubic metre or PM2.5 levels above 100 micrograms per cubic metre were classified as hotspots. The inventory identified locations where particulate pollution required focused intervention. PM10 and PM2.5 are fine particles that can enter the respiratory system and are associated with a range of health problems.
CAQM has asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to update the city’s hotspot list and submit a revised plan along with details of the officers responsible for implementation. The latest directions extend the hotspot-based approach across the NCR states rather than limiting the exercise to Delhi.
Delhi’s earlier hotspot exercise had identified 65 major pollution sources across 13 hotspots. Of these, 16 sources had been resolved, 43 were under continued monitoring and six remained pending, according to the environment department’s review cited in the report.
The exercise had also recorded 4,555 minor pollution sources across the 13 hotspots. These included road dust, garbage and construction waste dumping, potholes, unpaved roads, traffic congestion and open waste burning. Nearly half of these issues had been addressed at the time of the review.
The new action plans are expected to bring these local sources into a more structured implementation framework, with designated officials responsible for carrying out and monitoring measures at each identified hotspot. The NCR state governments, the Delhi government and pollution control authorities are to prepare and submit the hotspot-specific plans as directed by CAQM.
