Diwali smog: CAQM orders live cameras on fuel use at NCR factories, Haryana in focus

GURUGRAM. Factories in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Bahadurgarh and across the National Capital Region must install extra cameras over their fuel stores by October 31. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued the order after its flying squads caught units burning banned fuels.

The Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras must cover all fuel storage and charging points. Gas-based units must also keep the gas meter in view.

Live feeds will go to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state pollution boards, or the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Officials can then check fuel use from their offices instead of waiting for raids.

Why now: Diwali and winter smog

The deadline comes a week before Diwali on November 8, at the start of NCR’s worst air season. Cold, calm weather traps smoke from factories, traffic, firecrackers and crop fires close to the ground.

After Diwali last year, Delhi’s PM2.5 hit 488 micrograms per cubic metre. That was a five-year high and over three times the pre-festival level. Gurugram’s AQI touched 370 the next day.

In November, Delhi’s average PM2.5 doubled from October to 215 µg/m³. On November 13, Bahadurgarh‘s AQI reached 466 and Rohtak’s 430, both higher than Delhi’s 404. Sonipat recorded 347, Gurugram 300, Dharuhera 299 and Faridabad 288. Noida and Ghaziabad logged their dirtiest October in five years.

Haryana carries the biggest load

Haryana holds the largest share of NCR land and its busiest factory belts. These are spread across Faridabad, Gurugram, Nuh, Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rewari, Panipat, Palwal and other districts.

The key zones under the order include Udyog Vihar, IMT Manesar and the auto parts belt in Gurugram. In Faridabad, which has over 25,000 industrial and commercial units, the order covers the old industrial sectors, Ballabgarh and IMT Faridabad. Sonipat’s IMT Kharkhoda, Kundli, Rai, Barhi and Murthal also fall under it, along with Bahadurgarh‘s footwear park and Reliance MET City in Jhajjar. Rewari’s Dharuhera and the IMT Bawal auto hub, IMT Rohtak, Panipat’s textile and dyeing cluster and IMT Sohna in Nuh are covered too.

Bahadurgarh and Sonipat were among NCR’s most polluted towns last winter. In a single Sonipat drive last November, 20 CAQM flying squads found 29 violating units. Most were using banned fuel or had broken pollution control equipment.

What industries must do by October 31

– Install PTZ cameras over all fuel storage and charging points

– Keep gas meters visible on camera

– Stream live feeds to CPCB and the state board or DPCC

– Arrange power backup and stable internet so feeds never drop

State boards and DPCC must report compliance to CAQM by November 1. CPCB and the state boards will build portals to receive the feeds.

Fuel, not just smoke, under watch

CAQM said its flying squads found several units using fuels outside its approved list during surprise checks across NCR.

An earlier CPCB rule required food, textile and metal units to fit PTZ cameras along with online emission monitors on their chimneys. Units with boilers had to film the chimney port and smoke. Metal units had to cover fume extraction areas and furnace feeding points.

Those cameras watch the smoke. The new ones will watch the fuel before it burns. This closes a gap that let some units slip in cheaper, dirtier fuel between inspections.