Air pollution: Delhi Govt issues many measures; are they working?

New Delhi: A new report has been shared by the Environment Department of the Delhi government about its efforts to curb pollution in the city. Titled “Management interventions to mitigate air pollution in Delhi,” it has focused on 11 key areas to tackle air quality, controlling dust from construction sites, stopping open burning, increasing electric vehicles, improving public transport, and reducing use of diesel generators.

Every day, 159 tonnes of road dust is collected and dumped at locations like Okhla and Ghazipur. Water is sprinkled across 1,995 km of roads using 224 machines, and anti-smog guns are also being used. To clean roads better, 86 mechanized road sweeping (MRS) machines are working, and 99 more are being added.

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The report also highlights 134 traffic-heavy roads and mentions that over 62 lakh old vehicles have been deregistered. About 7,600 vehicles were sent for scrapping this year. On the green front, 62.7 lakh saplings have already been planted out of a 64.1 lakh target for 2024–25.

However, environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari says the report repeats the same measures without proving what actually works. “It shows hope without explaining why pollution levels are still high,” she said. While the number of ‘severe’ air days has dropped, dangerous PM2.5 levels continue.

Experts say that despite all the efforts, the national capital needs several concrete steps to stop pollution. The focus should be on the results, not on action. The government issues circulars on a regular basis, but things are the same; the poor air quality still hovers over Delhi NCR. Positive results are awaited.