CAQM flags 17 dust violations on Ring Road

Commuters travelling along Delhi’s Ring Road could soon see stricter cleaning enforcement, after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) found 17 violations of high visible road dust and construction waste accumulation during a surprise inspection drive covering 35 kilometres of the Inner and Outer Ring Road.

The inspection, conducted on October 3, 2026, under “Operation Clean Air,” aimed the assess visible road dust and check whether road-cleaning and sweeping operations were being carried out effectively along the Ring Road, one of the city’s busiest and most heavily used corridors.

For the drive, CAQM deployed four Flying Squad teams to inspect roads falling under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi. Together, the teams covered 25 road stretches spanning approximately 35 kilometres across the Inner and Outer Ring Road.

Across these stretches, the teams documented 17 instances of highly visible dust or accumulated Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste on the roads, pointing to gaps in how regularly and effectively the concerned agency was sweeping and cleaning these sections.

CAQM said these findings point to the need for strict and effective implementation of prescribed road-cleaning, sweeping, and dust-mitigation measures by the agencies responsible for maintaining these stretches, rather than one-off cleanups.

The Commission stressed that regular, effective road-cleaning and sweeping operations are critical to controlling road dust and preventing passing vehicles from resuspending it into the air. It noted that accumulated C&D waste and visible dust left along roadsides and carriageways directly contribute to this resuspension, worsening ambient air quality for everyone travelling or living near these roads. This cycle repeats every time traffic moves over poorly maintained stretches.

PWD, Delhi and other concerned agencies have now been directed to take appropriate corrective measures to control road dust on a priority basis. CAQM further emphasised that road stretches under these agencies’ jurisdiction must be kept clean and dust-free through regular sweeping, timely removal of accumulated dust and construction waste, and prompt corrective action wherever lapses are found.

CAQM said inspection drives under “Operation Clean Air” will continue across Delhi-NCR to assess on-ground implementation of various air pollution abatement measures, identify compliance gaps, and ensure concerned agencies take timely corrective steps rather than allowing violations to persist unchecked.

For residents who use the Ring Road daily, whether on two-wheelers, in cars or on foot near its carriageways, the findings offer a rare, independently verified snapshot of how inconsistently dust control measures are actually being enforced on one of the city’s major arterial roads, despite road dust remaining one of the most significant and persistent contributors to Delhi’s poor air quality through the year.