Delhi recorded ‘poor’ air quality, with the AQI settling at 229, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Delhi and the adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab have so far implemented just 40 to 60% of the anti-pollution measures outlined in their annual action plans, official sources said.
The action plans were submitted by the States to the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) in January and finalised in February this year.
“All the States have been directed to accelerate their efforts. The current level of actions is not satisfactory, but it is a good start. All States have tried and done work in different sectors, but more needs to be done,” an official source said.
Though the plans span the entire year, actions were supposed to be completed in phased deadlines. While some have been completed, several deadlines have been missed, said the source. The States were directed to execute a major portion of the actions by October 31, ahead of the seasonal spike in air pollution.
“Rajasthan is the worst performer and Uttar Pradesh is the best as per data updated till September 30. This is as per weighted average of actions taken by the States with more weight given to concrete actions done by the States to reduce air pollution such as redevelopment of roads or increasing the number of electric buses etc. The redevelopment of bad roads is one area in which all States have not done that well as almost all States have not completed even 50% of the target,” theofficial said.
Every winter, air quality deteriorates across Delhi-National Capital Region and the Indo-Gangetic Plains due to meteorological factors like low wind speeds and dropping temperatures. Stubble burning in October and November, festive firecrackers and existing emissions from vehicles and dust add to existing pollution.
The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi and neighbouring cities has already dipped into the “poor” and “very poor” categories, and is expected to deteriorate further, as per official data.
Targets missed
The action plans are comprehensive strategies covering vehicular emissions, dust mitigation, crop residue management and other areas, each carrying specific deadlines. Punjab is the only exception, as its action plan was strictly limited to controlling stubble burning.
The Delhi government committed to deploying 70 mechanical road sweeping (MRS) machines for wide roads and another 70 machines for smaller roads by the end of July. However, none of these new machines have been deployed so far, even as the target for smaller roads was scaled down to 30. On October 12, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that a portion of the fleet of 70 large MRS machines was expected to arrive by the end of November.
Similarly, a mandate to deny fuel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) from October 1, to be monitored via automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras or other technology, remains unimplemented in the NCR districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Published – October 29, 2026 09:35 pm IST
