New Delhi, March 24 -- A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday stated that an audit of continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) found only three-Anand Vihar, RK Puram and Jahangirpuri-do not meet installation guidelines, compared to the 13 flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last year. The committee initially decided to shift these stations but later opted against the move since they are located in densely populated areas and capture outlier readings. "The committee observed that all the CAAQMS are meeting the citing criteria as per CPCB guidelines except Anand Vihar, RK Puram and Jahangirpuri," the report said. "The issue was taken up by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) and it was decided not to shift Anand Vihar, R.K. Puram, and Jahangirpuri because of factors such as dense population and high pollution levels, which are important for maintaining data continuity and capturing outlier readings," the report added. On lead monitoring, the report noted that while stations do not monitor for lead, a five-month exercise from April to September 2022 found no significant lead content in Delhi's air. Regarding benzene, the PAC noted a DPCC response that vapour recovery systems have been installed at fuelling stations by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in accordance with CPCB guidelines. Addressing CAG's concerns about PUC centres issuing certificates in unusually short time, the PAC said it was a data issue with Delhi e-Governance Society (DeGS) servers, resolved after shifting to National Informatics Centre (NIC) servers. "During the Audit period, the PUCC application used to be managed by the Delhi e-Governance Society (DeGS). However, when the DeGS was questioned for the discrepancies noted by the audit, it informed that these discrepancies have arisen from their own ongoing testing, as test data accumulated over 3-4 years had inadvertently merged with the main database," the report said. Regular audits of PUC centres are now conducted; between May 2023 and February 2025, 1,850 audits were carried out, with action against 491 centres for violations. The CAG had flagged lack of data on vehicular pollution contribution. The PAC report also noted a 2022 Emissions Inventory by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) showing transport sector contribution to PM10 at 25% and to PM2.5 at 47%. On buses, while CAG noted 14-16% buses remained off-road, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) stated that electric buses with newer technology would reduce breakdowns, and periodic depot-level reviews are now conducted. . On 238 bus routes no longer operational, the PAC noted reasons cited by DTC, including narrow roads, risk to low-floor buses, and competition from Metro, e-rickshaws and autos. "DTC has recently executed an MoU with IIT Delhi for undertaking route rationalization of DEVI buses. The implementation of the recommendations on the report submitted by IIT Delhi is currently in progress."...