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The Delhi government has taken two key decisions to strengthen its pollution-control measures ahead of winter, with a focus on reducing road dust and identifying pollution sources in real time.
At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, the government approved the deployment of 30 electric vehicle-based mechanical road-sweeping machines on smaller roads and a real-time PM2.5 and PM10 source monitoring system in collaboration with IIT Delhi, said a release. Under the road-cleaning initiative, mechanised sweeping will be extended to roads where the facility is currently unavailable. The plan covers around 609 km of roads with a right of way of less than 10 metres, with 854 roads across 250 wards identified for the purpose. The machines will be procured with a grant from the Delhi government, while the MCD will operate them on the ground. The 30 electric sweeping machines are estimated to cost around Rs 393.73 crore over 10 years. The use of electric vehicles is aimed at reducing road dust while keeping the cleaning process environmentally cleaner, the release stated. The Cabinet has also approved a five-year collaboration with IIT Delhi to continuously track and analyse sources of PM2.5 and PM10. The system will examine major contributors such as vehicular emissions, road dust and biomass burning and provide data on their contribution throughout the day. As part of the project, the existing super site at Rouse Avenue and a mobile laboratory will be reactivated. A real-time dashboard and analytical reporting system will also be developed, while the capacity of Delhi Pollution Control Committee officials will be strengthened. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 19.22 crore. CM Rekha Gupta said the governments pollution-control efforts would continue throughout the year instead of being limited to the winter months. She said departments, MCD, DPCC and scientific institutions would work together to tackle pollution from road dust, vehicles, construction activities, industries and waste or biomass burning. The two decisions are part of Delhis Winter Action Plan 2026-27, with the government saying it aims to combine ground-level action, clean technology and scientific monitoring to address pollution at its sources. (ANI)
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