New Delhi, February 11 The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding areas issued guidelines for road-owning and maintenance agencies on Wednesday, outlining the deployment and use of mechanized road sweeping machines to reduce air pollution caused by road dust, officials said.
The commission noted that road dust is a major contributor to coarse particulate pollutant (PM10) and remains a significant contributor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), particularly during drier months.
"Inadequate and inconsistent road sweeping practices contribute to elevated levels of ambient particulate matter, thereby adversely impacting the overall air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR). Effective mechanized road sweeping is an essential intervention to reduce air pollution in the NCR, which has the potential to significantly reduce road dust and consequently lower PM10 and PM2.5 levels," a senior CAQM official said.
"The study by CSIR-CRRI and CSIR-NEERI also recommended several actions to control dust pollution, which included the operation of mechanized road sweeping machines on roads," the official added.
According to the guidelines, the mechanized road sweeping machines should be deployed according to the road width for effective dust control.
"Roads in the NCR vary widely in terms of Right of Way (RoW). An appropriate deployment strategy for Mechanized Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs) is necessary to ensure the efficient removal of visible dust on roads. Machines should be equipped with an effective particulate matter dust filtration system to prevent re-entrainment of PM during sweeping operations," the notification said.
"Only CNG-fueled or electric MRSMs should be inducted into the new fleet for sweeping operations. The machines should be able to operate for at least 8 hours on a shift basis. The day and schedule for road sweeping should be announced in advance to facilitate public convenience," it added.