CAQM asks NCR states to tighten checks on vehicular pollution, stubble burning

The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has directed enforcing agencies to ensure strict compliance with its directions, with particular focus on the vehicular and industrial sectors, prevention of stubble burning, and mitigation of dust from roads and from construction and demolition activity.

The directions were reviewed at a meeting of the CAQM's Sub-Committee on Safeguarding and Enforcement, held on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) under the chairmanship of Rajesh Verma, Chairperson of the Commission. The Commission announced the outcome in a statement on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).

According to the statement, the meeting reviewed the status of preparedness, enforcement and compliance measures being undertaken by the concerned NCR State governments, including the Delhi government, and by implementing agencies for the targeted abatement of air pollution across the region.

The Sub-Committee also directed the agencies to focus on strengthening inspection and compliance-monitoring mechanisms across the NCR.

"The Sub-Committee reiterated the importance of sustained and coordinated efforts by all concerned agencies to ensure effective implementation of sector-specific measures and strengthen enforcement mechanisms. Further, all implementing agencies reaffirmed their commitment to undertake strict, targeted and time-bound actions for effective implementation of the Commission's Directions," the CAQM said.

The CAQM is a statutory body constituted under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. Its jurisdiction covers Delhi and adjoining districts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and it is mandated to coordinate, plan and direct action to prevent, control and abate air pollution in the region.

The sectors named in the directions reflect the principal sources of pollution identified in the region. These include emissions from vehicles and industry, smoke from the burning of crop residue in agricultural areas, and particulate matter raised by traffic on roads as well as soil and debris from construction sites.

Air quality in Delhi and the surrounding NCR typically deteriorates from late October, when cooler temperatures, calmer winds and a low-level temperature inversion trap pollutants close to the ground. The period also coincides with the paddy harvest in neighbouring States, when fields are cleared by burning crop residue, adding smoke to an already polluted airshed.

In earlier years, the Commission has issued directions under its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a set of measures that is tightened in stages depending on the severity of air quality. The plan provides for restrictions on certain categories of vehicles, on construction activity and on other polluting operations as air quality worsens.

Wednesday's statement did not specify new deadlines, penalties or fresh sector-wise targets. It recorded that all implementing agencies had reaffirmed their commitment to strict, targeted and time-bound action.

Enforcement of pollution-control directions in the NCR involves several authorities, including State pollution control boards, municipal bodies, traffic police, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and district administrations. Because the airshed is shared across State boundaries, officials have noted that coordination among these agencies is central to the effectiveness of the measures.

Air pollution is a recognised public health concern in the region. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular illness, according to the World Health Organization.

The CAQM said the Sub-Committee reiterated the importance of sustained, coordinated action by all concerned agencies, and that sector-specific measures would continue to be implemented and monitored across the National Capital Region.