New Delhi, Dec. 15 -- The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday pulled up the Delhi Development Authority for "recurring negligence" in maintaining roads under its jurisdiction. This followed inspections that flagged high dust levels, waste accumulation, and open burning as part of its ongoing "Operation Clean Air drive" crackdown on road dust, a major pollution contributor.

On December 12, 19 inspection teams from CAQM flying squads and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee assessed 136 DDA-maintained road stretches, submitting geotagged and time-stamped photographs. According to the findings, 15 stretches recorded high levels of visible dust, 38 showed moderate dust, 61 had low dust intensity, and 22 had no visible dus...