New Delhi: Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has asked the pollution control boards of Haryana , Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to identify air pollution hotspots in their respective NCR areas and assess the major emission sources as part of a focused strategy to tackle local pollution. It also asked Delhi to update its list of hotspots.
In a letter dated Aug 24, CAQM said the states should prepare detailed hotspot action plans, identifying pollution sources, assessing emissions and outlining measures to control them. The commission referred to Delhi’s 2023 inventory of major point sources of pollution, in which areas with annual average PM10 levels of more than 300 micrograms per cubic metre or PM2.5 levels of over 100 micrograms per cubic metre were marked as hotspots. PM10 and PM2.5 are fine particles in the air that can enter the respiratory system and are linked to a range of health problems.
The plans are to include a nodal officer responsible for implementing the measures at each hotspot. “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 posted on X Thursday. CAQM has also asked Delhi Pollution Control Committee to update the list of hotspots and submit a revised hotspot action plan, along with details of nodal officers responsible for implementation.
The move comes against the backdrop of Delhi’s earlier hotspot exercise, under which the environment department had identified 65 major pollution sources across 13 hotspots. Of these, 16 were resolved, while 43 were under continued monitoring and six remained pending. The department had also identified 4,555 minor pollution sources at the 13 hotspots, including road dust, garbage and construction waste dumping, potholes, unpaved roads, traffic congestion and open waste burning.
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