New Delhi: Delhi woke up this morning to yet another reminder of how stubborn its dust problem remains. As part of “Operation Clean Air,” 22 Flying Squads of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) fanned out across the city, conducting their third intensive road-inspection drive—a ground-level push to assess how seriously agencies are complying with dust-control rules that have now become a seasonal lifeline.
A senior CAQM official, who was part of the inspection team, summed up the urgency of the exercise, saying, “Road dust is a silent killer. If agencies don’t stay alert every single day, Delhi pays the price with every breath its people take.”
The squads inspected 79 road stretches maintained by the DMRC, DSIIDC and DDA’s Rohini Zone, while also rechecking previously inspected stretches under the MCD and NDMC to gauge the impact of corrective actions. Geo-tagged and time-stamped evidence was collected at every site.
The findings painted a mixed picture. Of the 79 stretches, 15 showed high visible dust, 36 moderate, 22 low, and only six were completely dust-free. The DDA, which had 57 stretches under review, saw 12 marked as high-dust zones, indicating a pressing need to strengthen mechanical sweeping and shoulder maintenance.
The DMRC fared relatively better, with no stretch falling into the high-dust category. Of the 10 inspected stretches, two were dust-free and three showed low dust levels. DSIIDC’s 12 stretches revealed a wider spread—three high-dust sites and four moderate-dust stretches.
The reinspection results for the MCD and NDMC indicated partial improvement. The MCD recorded nearly a 50% reduction in high-dust stretches; however, 18 of its 35 reinspected roads still fall within the high-dust bracket. NDMC’s only reinspected stretch also continues to remain heavily dust-laden.
The Commission noted that road dust remains one of the most severe contributors to Delhi’s particulate pollution. It has urged agencies to intensify mechanical sweeping, ensure the timely disposal of collected dust, maintain central verges and road shoulders, and deploy water-sprinkling systems across all high-risk stretches.
CAQM officials stressed that these drives will continue with zero tolerance. Under Operation Clean Air, the Commission plans sustained enforcement to ensure all agencies comply with statutory dust-control norms so that Delhi’s roads—and its air—can inch closer to being clean and breathable once again.
(Cover Photo Credit: Canva)
