Set targets for clean air in the national Capital

Amid rapidly deteriorating air quality, the Delhi government recently announced a series of emergency measures, including the formation of a high-level committee tasked with finalising an air-pollution control plan for 2026.

- Pawan Mulukutla Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy

A serious health hazard, toxic air is also choking India's economic potential -reducing labour productivity, impacting businesses and driving up health care expenditure.Air pollution does not respect administrative boundaries. The formation of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which looks at Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, was a step in the right direction. This approach needs to be augmented with coordinated action across different departments - transport, urban development, agriculture, industry and municipal bodies - bolstered by clear roles, generous incentives and firm penalties.

A 30% reduction in PM2.5 across Delhi-NCR over the next three years must be set as a regional goal to push the system to go beyond incremental improvements. An integrated cross-sectoral monitoring framework that measures actions across departments can strengthen horizontal coordination among agencies and vertical alignment of policies and actions. Achieving these goals calls for well-defined, annual measurable responsibilities mapped to relevant departments and backed by a strong political consensus across NCR.