New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) As many as 34 instances of visible road dust violations were detected by five flying squads of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas during an inspection drive in Delhi’s Civil Lines and Karol Bagh areas, an official said on Thursday.

The teams detected the violations during field assessments across three zones of Delhi — Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, and West Delhi — falling under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday, an official statement said.

Based on the consolidated findings of the inspection teams, a total of 34 violations of visible road dust were observed on different road stretches, including Mahakavi Goswami Tulsidas Marg; Keshopur Road; Najafgarh Road; Vedic Marg; Satguru Ram Singh Marg; Ring Road, Punjabi Bagh; Baba Ramdev Marg; Malkaganj Road; Ramlal Kapoor Marg; Shanti Swaroop Tyagi Marg; Azadpur Road; Bhalswa Dairy Road; and Faiz Road.

These primarily pertain to high levels of visible road dust and the accumulation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste at multiple locations across the inspected zones, the statement said.

The presence of such conditions indicates gaps in routine road sweeping, dust mitigation measures, and timely removal of waste, all of which are critical for abating localised sources of air pollution, it said.

The Commission has directed the authorities, particularly the MCD, to strengthen on-ground implementation of dust control measures, including ensuring regular mechanised sweeping of roads, effective water sprinkling, prompt removal of C&D waste, and strict enforcement against unauthorised dumping.

The CAQM emphasised that road dust and improperly managed C&D waste are significant contributors to particulate pollution, especially in urban environments.

The Commission has advised the concerned agencies to adopt a proactive and sustained approach, including fixing accountability for lapses, enhancing monitoring mechanisms, and ensuring strict compliance with prescribed guidelines and statutory directions, the statement said.

The Commission reiterated that such inspection and enforcement drives under ‘Operation Clean Air’ will continue to be undertaken regularly across Delhi-NCR to identify and mitigate localised air pollution sources.

It said close coordination with all agencies will continue in the near future to ensure strict compliance with statutory directions and effective implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a set of emergency measures in Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution triggered in stages based on Air Quality Index (AQI) levels.

–IANS

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