The Centre has ordered the sealing of 191 polluting industries in the National Capital Region that failed to place orders for installing air pollution control devices, while setting deadlines for border traffic systems and automatic number plate recognition cameras as winter pollution measures are intensified across Delhi-NCR.
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav issued the directions during a review meeting attended by officials from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also joined the meeting virtually. The Commission for Air Quality Management was directed to initiate criminal prosecution against transport department officials if ANPR cameras were not installed by November 30.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been asked to complete multi-lane free-flow systems at 154 Delhi border entry points by December 31. These systems are intended to reduce stoppages at entry points, where vehicle queues and congestion can add to traffic emissions. The directions form part of a wider enforcement and operational plan covering transport, roads, industry, waste and construction-related pollution.
Yadav also reviewed progress on road dust management and noted that 3,221 km of roads had been redeveloped against a target of 5,480 km. Road-owning agencies were instructed to prioritise pothole repairs, damaged footpaths, central verges and end-to-end paving. Mechanical road sweeping machines were asked to operate at full capacity in double shifts, with digital tracking and artificial-intelligence-based monitoring through Integrated Command and Control Centres.
The minister directed authorities to act immediately at 233 identified congestion points across the NCR and asked the states to conduct fresh assessments. On vehicular emissions, he called for faster implementation of the Parivartan scheme, which aims to replace pre-BS-VI trucks and buses with BS-VI, compressed natural gas and electric vehicles by 2028.
Industrial monitoring was another focus of the meeting. Of the 2,345 industries targeted for connection to an online continuous emission monitoring system, 2,298, or 98%, had been connected. The remaining 47 units had either been closed or sealed, according to the review. Yadav directed agencies to enforce the particulate matter emission limit of 50 mg/Nm³, with non-compliant industries facing closure, electricity disconnection and sealing where required.
The review also identified a municipal solid waste processing capacity gap of 6,747 tonnes per day across the NCR. States were directed to prevent open dumping and burning and to accelerate the remediation of legacy waste at the Okhla, Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Bandhwari waste sites. These sites have remained part of the region’s continuing waste-management challenge, with authorities being asked to address both current disposal practices and accumulated waste.
The minister instructed all agencies to ensure strict implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan. NCR states were also asked to adopt Delhi’s hotspot-focused winter action plan, which includes traffic management, work-from-home measures, construction restrictions and steps to prevent open burning. The immediate deadlines are November 30 for ANPR camera installation and December 31 for the free-flow systems at Delhi’s border entry points.
