Delhi’s air pollution crisis did not emerge overnight. It is the cumulative result of years of policy inertia, piecemeal interventions, and a refusal to invest in long-term environmental governance by successive Delhi governments. The Rekha Gupta-led administration assumed office not merely in a polluted city but in a deeply compromised policy ecosystem. What the Congress governments failed to build and what the AAP regime actively dismantled through neglect has now become the starting point for the current government.
Yet, despite a short tenure, the state government has introduced a series of structural, measurable and technology-driven reforms that are finally re orienting Delhi’s environmental governance from symbolic activism to serious, systemic action. When the government took charge, it inherited not only toxic air but also a governance framework riddled with fragmentation. Under Congress and the AAP, environmental decisions were shaped more by press conferences than by policy outcomes. None of the essential building blocks of a pollution mitigation framework – enforcement capacity, inter-agency coordination, technological integration or urban infrastructure modernisation – were strengthened.
The Congress era left Delhi with outdated monitoring systems, unmanaged landfills, inadequate public transport expansion and unregulated construction activity – each contributing heavily to particulate matter load. Instead of correcting this, the Kejriwal government added layers of mismanagement. Despite repeatedly promising to end pollution “in 24 hours,” it failed to upgrade dust control mechanisms, stalled solid waste biomining, neglected mechanical sweeping expansion and allowed landfill fires and stubble smoke to become seasonal features.
Enforcement teams existed only on paper; agencies worked in silos and the city’s response to peak pollution events was reduced to ad-hoc announcements and unscientific populist measures like the Odd Even scheme! This legacy of neglect meant that the Gupta administration had to begin with institutional rebuilding – strengthening coordination, scaling enforcement, expanding infrastructure and restoring public trust. The current government’s strategy begins with enforcement – an area long abandoned by the previous regime.
Today, 1812 enforcement teams operate across Delhi, a significant ramp-up from last year. These teams conduct over 500 inspections daily, targeting dust pollution, open waste burning, industrial emissions, and vehicular violations. Importantly, they operate within a newly established accountability mechanism: 11 cross-functional district teams co-chaired by the District Magistrate, DCP and MCD Deputy Commissioner.
This multi-agency structure, absent under previous governments, ensures real-time coordination, rapid response and shared responsibility. Furthermore, the DPCC’s dust portal is now used rigorously to monitor registered construction and demolition sites above 500 sq. meters, enabling digital oversight of C&D compliance – something previous governments could not operationalise. Dust contributes up to 30 per cent of Delhi’s PM10 load. While earlier governments relied almost entirely on manual sweeping, the Gupta administration has expanded mechanised and water-based dust suppression at an unprecedented scale.
- 91 Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines now sweep 3,000 km daily, removing 75 MT of dust every day
- 273 Water Sprinklers cover 2000 km daily.
- 386 Anti-Smog Guns, a dramatic rise from 239, cover 5000 km daily, using ultra-fine droplets to bind PM2.5 and PM10.
- More than 1 lakh litres of treated water are deployed daily for dust suppression on major corridors. Beyond removal, the government is addressing dust at its source. Since January 2025, 18,768 potholes have been repaired, 2650 km of road shoulders paved and 1885 km of central verges greened. These measures reduce dust resuspension. Unregulated construction has been a perennial driver of pollution.
- Today: 500 Anti-Smog Guns which are mandatory at active construction sites
- Installation of anti-smog guns is now mandatory on all high-rise commercial complexes, malls, hotels, office buildings, and G+5 educational institutions.
- Additionally, 300 mist spray systems have been installed along central verges, with over 2500 more in the pipeline. This regulatory expansion strengthens compliance, eliminates gaps, and ensures that construction emissions are controlled and monitored continuously – something missing earlier. Delhi’s EV policy, which earlier existed largely as an aspirational document, is finally translating into visible outcomes under the present administration.
- The city now has 4.5 lakh registered electric vehicles.
- The charging ecosystem includes 3000 charging stations, 5000 charging points, and 900 battery swapping stations, constituting India’s densest EV network.
- Delhi’s bus fleet today includes 3337 electric buses, supported by 1938 CNG buses.
- 1988 more electric buses are scheduled to be added by March 2026, along with 510 additional e-buses by December 2026. For the first time, public mobility is being integrated into the clean air policy framework through measurable targets and predictable timelines. Industrial pollutants have reduced significantly due to firm enforcement. Today, all industries in Delhi operate only on PNG or approved fuels , with the administration maintaining strict compliance audits. Meanwhile, 956 Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres are functioning, all subject to mandatory half-yearly audits including third-party assessment to eliminate manipulation – another first. The Gupta administration has made transformational progress in key seasonal contributors:
- 30,000 MT per day of legacy waste is being bio-mined at all three landfills, reversing decades of accumulation.
Delhi witnessed zero landfill fires and zero stubble burning events in 2025, an unprecedented achievement rooted in enforcement and ground interventions.
The government’s roadmap is not limited to traditional measures. Delhi is now conducting a pilot for artificial rain, in partnership with IIT Kanpur, to explore weather modification as a pollution mitigation tool during severe episodes. Additionally, staggered office hours during GRAP Stage 3 and 4 are now part of a calibrated response system designed to reduce congestion when emissions peak. No government, however proactive, can solve air pollution without public participation. Citizens must adopt responsible behavioral practices – regular PUC checks, avoiding open burning, segregating waste, adopting public transport or carpooling and switching to cleaner appliances.
Environmental sustainability is as much about societal habits as state capacity. The Gupta administration is in its early phase, yet its impact is visible across sectors. What earlier governments dismisse d as “complicated” or “impractical” is now being executed at scale. But str uctural transformation in environmental governance requires continuity. Air quality management is not a seasonal exercise; it is a multi-year challenge.
Delhi’s air quality has shown marked improvement since the Gupta-led government took charge. The city’s average annual Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped from 169 in 2024 to 139 in 2025 – the lowest value in at least five years. Not only do these numbers indicate cleaner air, but they also highlight a stable, year-on-year decline in pollution rather than a one-time fluctuation. Between January and November 2025, Delhi’s average AQI was 187, lower than the corresponding periods in both 2024 and 2023. Average PM2.5 levels fell from 86 g/m³ in 2024 to 74 g/m³ in 2025, while PM10 levels for the January-November window dropped from 205 g/m³ to 183 g/m³. These numbers indicate cleaner air at the microscopic level, directly reducing respiratory health risks.
These improvements coincide with the administration’s active enforcement measures, expansion of anti-smog infrastructure, stricter monitoring systems, and rapid large-scale interventions. A dedicated high-powered panel under the Chief Minister has strengthened the coordination between agencies and ensured that pollution control efforts are not seasonal but sustained throughout the year. Some political voices have claimed that the Delhi government attempted to artificially reduce pollution readings by spraying water around air-quality monitoring stations.
However, these allegations do not hold up to technical scrutiny and contradict how monitoring systems work. The monitoring stations that measure AQI do not record dust lying on the ground. They use highly sensitive laser-based sensors positioned at a height of around 3-4 metres above ground level. These instruments measure suspended particulate matter and gases present in the air, not surface dust. Further, the data flow in these automatic monitoring systems is fully digital and cannot be altered manually.
Sensors transmit data directly to central servers through secure systems. Operators at local stations have no physical access to the data software, meaning manipulation would not only be practically impossible but would also require breaching government infrastructure at multiple levels. Multiple agencies operate these monitoring stations, including the Central Pollution Control Board, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, and meteorological authorities.
Coordinated manipulation across all agencies would be impossible without leaving clear digital evidence. Additionally, periodic calibration, protective shutdowns to prevent damage during extreme pollution, and occasional power fluctuations explain short data gaps – none of which indicate monitoring fraud. Many long-term structural initiatives of the Central Government have been taken over the past 10-11. These interventions target the root causes of pollution – vehicular emissions, congestion, power generation and urban infrastructure gaps.
The most transformative interventions were the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways, which successfully diverted heavy commercial vehicles away from Delhi. These bypass corridors dramatically reduced traffic congestion and cut emissions inside the city. Similar impact has been seen from new flyovers and elevated corridors that improve traffic fluidity, reducing the hours that vehicles spend idling on clogged intersections. The Centre has also promoted large-scale adoption of electric mobility. Delhi today has one of the highest numbers of electric buses and charging stations in India, supported by Central incentives and clean-fuel policies.
This transition has helped replace old diesel buses with cleaner variants, cutting emissions sharply. Metro expansion has been another cornerstone. With new corridors under the DMRC framework, the Delhi Metro is now one of the most expansive mass-transit systems in the world. It has shortened travel time, reduced fuel use, eased congestion, and significantly lowered traffic-based emissions.
The upcoming Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut continues this direction by offering a high-speed electric alternative to road travel. Fuel transition has also played a vital role. India jumped from BS-IV to BS-VI standards in 2020 – a move that drastically lowered sulfur and particulate emissions, especially from commercial vehicles. To expect changes overnight would be unreasonable but the Gupta government has clearly shown it has a roadmap and intends to deliver results in the coming few seasons.
(The writer is National Spokesperson, BJP.)