Gurugram and other southern Haryana cities have breached the permissible annual limit for PM10 for seven consecutive years, data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) showed. all of them remain well above the national standard While levels differ across cities.
Because implementation is often inconsistent, and interventions such as mechanised sweeping and water sprinkling do not address the underlying causes of dust generation, “Local mitigation measures have had limited impact. Poor road conditions, unpaved shoulders, construction activity and the movement of vehicles continue to generate and resuspend dust. Under Stage I of GRAP imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), authorities will strengthen dust-control measures at construction sites, prevent open burning of garbage and biomass, check vehicles for valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates and act against visibly polluting vehicles and overage petrol and diesel vehicles.
Construction dust regulations and GRAP measures also need stronger enforcement,” Dr Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA, told HT.
Gurugram recorded an annual PM10 of 164.9 µg/m³ in 2026 (as on October 23) against the prescribed annual limit of 60 µg/m³, according to the data. The level has stayed high since 2019, when it was 190.2 µg/m³. It dropped to 148.4 µg/m³ in 2020, before climbing again to 196.7 µg/m³ in 2022; it stood at 159.6 µg/m³ in 2025.
