Delhi has expanded its air quality monitoring network from 47 to 60 centres, while authorities have removed Anand Vihar from the capital’s pollution hotspot list after reviewing measures aimed at controlling dust, traffic emissions, construction debris and open waste burning in the area.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reviewed pollution-control measures in Anand Vihar on Tuesday and visited the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s artificial intelligence-based control centre at Shastri Park. The review focused on the measures taken to reduce pollution in one of Delhi’s historically affected transport and commercial zones.
According to officials, Anand Vihar’s pollution was linked to heavy vehicular traffic, bus movement, dust from roads and unpaved edges, potholes, incomplete paved surfaces, construction debris, waste and the burning of waste in the open. Eleven departments and agencies were assigned short-term and long-term responsibilities to address these sources.
The measures included paving internal roads, removing encroachments, enforcing dust-control requirements at construction sites and clearing illegally dumped debris. Officials said the combined action had helped ensure that Anand Vihar was no longer classified as a pollution hotspot. The assessment was presented during the review by the Union minister and the chief minister.
The new monitoring centres have been established at Ghummanhera, Chhawla, Karala, Hastasal, Jharoda Kalan, Ghogha, Burari, Tikri Kalan, Narela, Maidan Garhi, Nangloi, Vasundhara Enclave and Badarpur. They will record pollutant concentrations and weather-related data continuously.
The expanded network is intended to improve pollution assessment, support enforcement checks and provide residents with air quality index information. The increase also extends monitoring coverage to areas where changing traffic patterns, construction activity, road conditions or peripheral land uses may influence local air quality.
At the Shastri Park control centre, information on air quality, dust-control activity, industrial emissions, stubble-burning incidents, noise, citizen complaints and enforcement vehicles is being brought together on a single platform. Authorities plan to connect 15 external information systems to the centre, of which nine have already been integrated. The system is intended to support real-time monitoring and coordination between agencies responsible for pollution control.
The programme also included the inauguration of public electric-vehicle charging stations at the Anand Vihar bus terminal, Nand Nagri, Rohini Sector 37, Nangloi and Keshopur. New electric buses were flagged off from the Swami Vivekanand Inter-State Bus Terminal in Anand Vihar.
The developments place pollution monitoring alongside direct interventions in transport, road maintenance, construction management and waste control. However, the removal of Anand Vihar from the hotspot list, as reported by officials, will depend on continued enforcement of these measures and the data generated by the expanded monitoring network. The authorities’ next operational focus is the integration of the remaining external information systems and continued monitoring across all 60 centres.
