New Delhi [India]: In a decisive step to curb industrial and construction-related air pollution, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has made it mandatory for all construction and demolition sites to register on its Dust Portal before securing approval for building plans.
The directive aims to enforce strict adherence to dust mitigation measures, including wet suppression through anti-smog guns and regular water sprinkling, according to a statement issued by the Office of Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
“The DPCC has directed the land-owning and construction agencies, as well as contractors, to adhere to 14-point dust mitigation protocols,” the letter from the Environment Minister’s office read.
Alongside this, the Delhi Government and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) are intensifying efforts to control air pollution in industrial zones, particularly in areas lacking existing smog-control infrastructure.
To that end, eight advanced hydraulic anti-smog gun vehicles, mounted on CNG-powered trucks and equipped with GPS-enabled water sprinklers, will be deployed in key industrial hubs under DPCC jurisdiction.
“Our government is fully committed to ensuring industrial growth while protecting the environment. We are taking concrete steps to minimise industrial waste and improve infrastructure so that businesses can thrive responsibly,” said Environment Minister Sirsa.
“Sustainable development is the cornerstone of our Prime Minister’s vision for a Viksit Delhi,” he added.
Each anti-smog truck is capable of spraying fine mist up to 30 meters, with a 330-degree rotation capacity, and will operate in two daily shifts—from 3:00 AM to 7:00 AM, and again during off-peak afternoon hours.
Currently, Bawana and Narela Industrial Areas are already equipped with water sprinklers and anti-smog units. The expanded fleet follows a high-level government meeting that finalized the hiring process for the GPS-enabled vehicles.
In a parallel initiative, the Delhi government will establish 32 real-time water quality monitoring stations to support the Yamuna River clean-up mission—with 10 sensors directly on the Yamuna and 22 monitoring major drains flowing into it.
These moves come amid rising pollution concerns in Delhi-NCR, where the city’s average AQI recently crossed 200. On May 19, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) held a meeting of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) subcommittee to review the worsening air quality.