CAQM: From Advice to Enforcement

For 22 years, a body called EPCA tried to clean up Delhi’s air. It could only recommend. It could not punish. In 2021, India replaced it with something that finally could.

mcqquestion.com

Environment & Ecology · EnvEco0046

27,925 units

Inspected by CAQM’s Flying Squads, cumulative to 20 Jul 2026

1,803 closure directions issued · 1,446 resumption orders granted

Aug 2021

CAQM Act receives presidential assent

1998-2021

EPCA’s 22-year run, before CAQM replaced it

5 yrs

Max prison term for defying CAQM orders

175

Inspections in 14 days, 1-13 Jul 2026

Industrial units90

DG set inspections68

C&D sites17

From advice to enforcement

EPCA spent 22 years able only to recommend. CAQM, in force since 2021, can close industries, cut power and water, and jail violators for up to five years.

📑 Contents

1Must Know
2Good to Know
3Test Yourself
4Great to Know
5Current Affairs

Must Know

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
It was first created by an Ordinance promulgated in October 2020. A fresh Ordinance replaced it on 13 April 2021. Permanent legal footing came later, through the CAQM Act, 2021, which received presidential assent on 12 August 2021.
CAQM replaced EPCA, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority. EPCA was a Supreme Court-appointed body that had worked on Delhi’s air since 1998. It had no statutory power to punish anyone.
“Adjoining areas” means the parts of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan bordering the NCR, wherever pollution there affects NCR air quality.
Unlike EPCA, CAQM has real teeth. It can restrict industries, run random inspections, order closures, and even cut a violator’s power or water supply. Defying its orders can mean up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to ₹1 crore.

Good to Know

CAQM continues to run the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a stage-based pollution-response system that EPCA first introduced.
Its Flying Squads carry out inspections across three main sectors: Construction and Demolition (C&D) sites, industrial units, and Diesel Generator (DG) sets.
As of 2026, the Commission is chaired by Rajesh Verma, a 1987-batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer. He previously served as Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu.
Its membership includes ex-officio Chief Secretaries or environment secretaries from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. It also includes technical members drawn from the CPCB, ISRO, and NITI Aayog.
CAQM enforces a “Standard Framework” on road-owning agencies, aimed at cutting road dust. This covers things like full end-to-end paving on redeveloped roads.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

CAQM’s own birth took three tries. First came an October 2020 Ordinance, then a fresh April 2021 Ordinance, and only then the permanent August 2021 Act. That slow path shows how contested giving this body real enforcement power actually was.
The EPCA-to-CAQM shift is a real-world case study in advisory versus statutory bodies. EPCA lasted 22 years but could only recommend action. CAQM has existed for a much shorter time, yet can order closures and impose criminal penalties.
CAQM’s enforcement work sits alongside other Delhi-NCR pollution efforts, including vehicle-scrapping incentives. See IndEco0190 — PARIVARTAN Scheme: Retiring Delhi-NCR’s Polluting Vehicles.

Current Affairs

21 July 2026: CAQM’s Enforcement Task Force (ETF) held its 135th meeting on 20 July 2026, reviewing enforcement across NCR for the period 1-13 July 2026. Its Flying Squads had carried out 175 inspections in those 14 days. That covered 17 Construction & Demolition sites, 90 industrial units, and 68 Diesel Generator sets. (Source: PIB)
21 July 2026: Based on violations found, the Commission proposed closing one project and sealing 19 DG sets. It also issued nine compliance orders, and imposed Environmental Compensation in four cases. It further issued 25 resumption orders after compliance verification: two in Delhi, 11 in Haryana, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, and two in Rajasthan. (Source: PIB)
21 July 2026: Cumulatively, as of 20 July 2026, CAQM’s Flying Squads have inspected 27,925 units. They have issued 1,803 closure directions, and granted 1,446 resumption orders after compliance checks. Separately, Ghaziabad’s road redevelopment work spans 42 stretches, covering about nine kilometres. It was found fully compliant with CAQM’s Standard Framework. (Source: PIB)
On 23 July 2026, CAQM inspected road redevelopment in Faridabad and Gurugram. (Source: PIB)
Of 64 stretches checked, 49 had proper end-to-end paving; 15 did not. (Source: PIB)
The Commission ordered disciplinary action, against officials who gave incorrect compliance reports. (Source: PIB)
Separately, Parliament reviewed the National Clean Air Programme, launched in 2019 across 130 cities. (Source: PIB)
It has released ₹16,423.56 crore in incentive grants to cities, from FY2019-20 to FY2025-26. (Source: PIB)
On landfills, new Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, took effect from 1 April 2026. (Source: PIB)
They set standards for sanitary landfills, replacing the 2016 Rules. (Source: PIB) The same rules also set the four-stream segregation mandate covered in EnvEco0032 — Plastic Waste Recycling in India.
Of 7 legacy waste dumpsites identified in Delhi-NCR, 4 have been fully remediated so far. (Source: PIB)
On 24 July 2026, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav reviewed Haryana’s air-pollution action plan, with the state’s Chief Minister. (Source: PIB)
He asked for all road-sweeping machine gaps to close by September, with geo-tagging for real-time tracking. (Source: PIB)
He also flagged gaps in Haryana’s electric-bus rollout, across NCR’s municipal corporations. (Source: PIB)
On 31 July 2026, CAQM amended its industrial PM-emission rules, Direction No. 98. (Source: PIB)
The deadline for meeting the 50 mg/Nm³ standard, for NCR industries, moved to 1 October 2026. (Source: PIB)
It followed CPCB feedback on equipment-procurement delays, and limited lab capacity for compliance checks. (Source: PIB)
On 4 August 2026, CAQM announced an amendment, to its Statutory Direction No. 86, dated 3 August. It strengthens enforcement against dust-mitigation violations, at Construction & Demolition sites under 500 sqm. (Source: PIB)
The amendment extends prosecution powers, to more Urban Local Bodies across NCR. New towns covered include Manesar, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak, Meerut, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bhiwadi, and Neemrana. (Source: PIB)
These ULBs can now prosecute gross violators directly, order site closures, and impose Environmental Compensation. They must also submit monthly status reports, on complaints and prosecutions filed. (Source: PIB)
During April-June 2026, agencies inspected 16,195 C&D sites in Delhi alone. They also inspected 909 sites in Haryana’s NCR districts, 230 in Uttar Pradesh’s, and 160 in Rajasthan’s. (Source: PIB)