Gurgaon: Fifteen road stretches in Gurgaon and Faridabad have failed a ground inspection by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), with the air quality watchdog finding that they had not been fully paved despite both civic bodies informing it that the work had been completed.Calling the discrepancy serious, the commission on Thursday asked the civic bodies to identify officials who submitted the incorrect compliance reports and initiate disciplinary action against them.The findings come just as the state intensifies its anti-pollution drive ahead of winter. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini is scheduled to chair a high-level review meeting on air pollution in Delhi-NCR in the city on Friday, along with Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh, senior officials and environmental experts.The inspection, conducted on Wednesday under CAQM’s “Operation Clean Air”, covered 64 road stretches spanning 31km — 50 under Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and 14 under MCG. The roads fell within right-of-way categories of less than 10 metres and 10-15 metres.While 49 stretches — 38 in Faridabad and 11 in Gurgaon — met the prescribed standards, the remaining 15, including 12 in Faridabad and three in Gurgaon, were found to have incomplete redevelopment works. According to the commission, these roads had not achieved end-to-end paving, a key requirement under its standard framework for urban road redevelopment.What raised greater concern was that both municipal corporations had already informed CAQM that the roads had been redeveloped in accordance with the prescribed framework. Field inspections, however, found otherwise.“The agencies concerned are being communicated to identify the officers or officials responsible for furnishing incorrect information to the commission and take appropriate disciplinary action against them,” CAQM said.The commission’s standard framework requires road-owning agencies across NCR to provide continuous end-to-end paving, stabilised shoulders, greening of available spaces and other dust-control measures to curb the resuspension of road dust, one of the biggest contributors to particulate pollution in the region.CAQM said proper paving not only reduces dust generated by moving vehicles but also improves the effectiveness of mechanised road sweeping and other mitigation measures. It has asked agencies to complete the pending redevelopment works at the earliest and strictly in accordance with the framework.The commission said implementation of the framework remains one of the region’s most important long-term measures to tackle road dust pollution. It also pointed out that inspections under ‘Operation Clean Air” would continue across Delhi-NCR to verify compliance and ensure timely corrective action wherever shortcomings are found.Road dust remains among the largest contributors to PM10 pollution in NCR, particularly during the dry months. Authorities have been pushing urban local bodies to redesign roads with continuous paving, stabilised shoulders and greening, alongside mechanised sweeping, water sprinkling and anti-smog guns, to reduce dust emissions before the onset of winter.
