The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on August 03, 2026, issued amendment to Direction No. 86 regarding noncompliance or contravention of any provisions of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021.
The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), acting under Section 12(1) of the CAQM Act, 2021, had earlier issued Statutory Direction No. 86 dated January 2, 2025 (amended June 24, 2025) to curb air pollution from dust generated by construction and demolition (C&D) activities. This original direction empowered officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council, and urban local bodies in major NCR cities — Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Sonipat — to file complaints or initiate prosecution before jurisdictional magistrates against gross violators of dust and air pollution control norms, and to order site closures or impose environmental compensation charges, including for GRAP schedule violations related to C&D activities.
Recognizing that a significant number of construction projects on plots smaller than 500 sqm are also underway in other municipal corporations, and bigger cities/towns across the NCR that similarly contribute to PM10 and PM2.5 pollution loads, the Commission determined that Direction No. 86 needed to be extended for more effective and widespread implementation beyond the originally covered cities.
Consequently, on August 3, 2026, the Commission — exercising powers under Section 14(2) of the CAQM Act — amended Paragraph 18 of Direction No. 86 to expand the list of authorized enforcement officials. The revised direction now additionally empowers commissioners, chief executives, and deputy commissioners of municipal corporations and development authorities in Manesar, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak, Meerut, Alwar, Bharatpur, along with the Commissioner of Bhiwadi Municipal Council and the Executive Officer of Neemrana Municipal Board, to take the same enforcement actions — filing complaints/prosecutions, ordering site closures, and imposing environmental compensation charges — against gross violators of dust and air pollution control measures in their respective jurisdictions.
The Commission has directed that these expanded provisions be implemented rigorously, with the status of complaints filed under this direction to be reported to the Commission on a monthly basis, alongside the existing monthly progress reports already being submitted.
[File No. A-110018/01/2021-CAQM 1631 DT]
