Delhi pollution: From remote PUC checks to vehicle phasing out, what CAQM suggested to clean up national capital's air

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that vehicular emissions during winter and dust in summer are the main contributors to air pollution in Delhi and the NCR. It submitted a list of short- and long-term measures, including steps to ease traffic congestion at MCD toll plazas.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, accepted the report and directed all stakeholders — central ministries, the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, civic bodies, and the Metro corporation — to submit action plans within four weeks to implement the recommendations.

The bench said the measures must be enforced without delay and cautioned stakeholders against raising objections. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court that the recommendations were drawn up after extensive consultations with expert institutions, including IITs, academia, research bodies and NGOs.


CAQM said addressing air pollution required a whole-of-government approach, with coordinated action by ministries, state governments, statutory authorities and other agencies.

The CAQM recommended the following measures to be introduced in a phased manner:

*Time-bound phasing out of polluting vehicles from Delhi-NCR based on emission potential.
*Strengthening of PUC 2.0 and monitoring of on-road vehicles with remote sensing devices.
*Augmenting Regional Rail Transport and Metro Rail network with more lines and stations in Delhi and NCR.
*Developing Multi-Modal Transport hubs connecting Metro, Regional Rapid Transit System.
*Ensuring last-mile connectivity along with a real-time passenger information system with location-based tracking of public transport.
*Reviewing and revising respective electric vehicle policies to accelerate the transition of all vehicles to zero tailpipe emission vehicles in Delhi-NCR. Giving higher incentives to owners for scrapping their old vehicles.
*Expanding EV charging infrastructure including swappable battery stations expeditiously commensurate with vehicle growth.
*Permitting retrofitting of vehicles to EV certification by ARAI/ICAT.
*Augmenting city public bus service through E-buses/ CNG according to model yardsticks and service level benchmark of Ministry of Housing and Urban Administration (MoHUA) based on population.
*Developing a plan for CNG/ LNG fuelling network in NCR and on highways to shift long-haul trucking and other commercial vehicles to gas.
*Installing ANPR cameras and automated RFID ensuring Multi-Lane Free Flow enabled Toll/ Cess collection at all border entry points of Delhi.
*Deploying integrated traffic management system in Delhi and other major urban agglomerates, particularly Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonipat for smooth and improved traffic movement.
*Implementing parking area management plans in Delhi and NCR.
*Imposing higher environmental protection charges.
*Intensifying enforcement through technology-based solutions such as automatic number plate recognition, radio frequency identification, remote sensing techniques, AI-driven surveillance etc.