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The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) conducted an inspection drive to assess compliance and effectiveness of corrective measures undertaken by concerned road-maintaining agencies following inspections carried out earlier on December 12. This was done as part of its continuous monitoring and ongoing enforcement efforts under the statutory framework and provisions of the extant Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), according to an official press release issued on Thursday.

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Scope of the Inspection

The drive focused on assessing the accumulation of visible road dust and on-ground operations of Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs), and on identifying instances of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) accumulation, Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste accumulation, and open burning. A total of fifteen teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for inspection of 106 road stretches maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) and two teams of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for re-inspection of selected 27 road stretches under the jurisdiction of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) were deployed under the directions of the Commission. Geo-tagged and time-stamped photographic documentation was collected and submitted to the Commission as part of the consolidated inspection report.

Inspection Results: DDA Roads Show Improvement

During the re-inspection of 27 road stretches maintained by DDA that were earlier reported to have high visible dust levels during inspections conducted on December 12, it was observed that none of the road stretches fell under the High Dust category on Wednesaday. Out of these stretches, 07 were found with Moderate Dust levels, 19 recorded Low Dust intensity and 01 stretch was found to have No Visible Dust. According to the release, this indicated a marked improvement in the overall upkeep of these road stretches, reflecting the impact of corrective measures undertaken by the agency following the earlier CAQM inspection.

Persistent Gaps Found on PWD-Maintained Roads

Simultaneously, inspection of 106 road stretches maintained by PWD revealed that 09 stretches exhibited High Visible Dust levels, 16 showed Moderate Dust, 37 recorded Low Dust intensity and 44 stretches were found to have No Visible Dust. On specific stretches with high dust intensity, the accumulation of MSW and C&D waste, as well as instances of open burning, were also reported, indicating the need for more vigorous on-the-ground enforcement and maintenance by the relevant agency.

CAQM's Directives and Observations

The Commission observed that while the re-inspection results for DDA-maintained road stretches indicate improvement and responsiveness to earlier directions, the inspection of PWD-maintained road stretches highlighted persistent gaps in effective road maintenance and dust control, and required immediate and sustained corrective action.

Corrective Measures Emphasised

The Commission emphasised the need for regular mechanical sweeping, timely lifting and disposal of collected dust and waste, maintenance of road stretches and central verges, effective deployment of water sprinkling and dust-suppression mechanisms, and strict prevention of open burning across all stretches.

'Operation Clean Air' to Continue

The Commission reiterated that targeted inspection and re-inspection exercises under 'Operation Clean Air' will continue to be carried out to ensure strict adherence to its Statutory Directions on dust mitigation and the prevention of open burning, to keep road stretches across Delhi clean and dust-free. (ANI)