Delhi's 199 clean air days in 2025 nearly double of 110 days in entire 2016: Sirsa

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Delhi has already recorded 199 clean air days this year — compared to 110 such days in 2016 — marking an almost 100 per cent improvement and putting the city on track for its highest-ever tally in 2025, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Sunday.

Sirsa credited this turnaround to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the effective on-ground execution by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

The momentum reflects an integrated, technology-backed strategy that converts policy into consistent, measurable execution across seasons, he said.

“This is not an outcome of chance or weather — it is the result of continuous, coordinated action. Under CM Rekha Gupta’s leadership, Delhi has shifted from paper-based promises to tech-based performance,” he said.

“From road dust control to landfill bio-mining, from mechanised sweeping to misting and plantation — work is happening 24x7. Results are bound to happen when intent is clean and actions are coordinated,” said Sirsa.

The Minister noted that the city’s AQI on Sunday stood at 167, a marked improvement from Saturday.

This is the outcome of daily environmental vigilance across the capital — with dust control, waste management, and vehicular pollution monitoring in constant motion, he said.

“Every clean day in Delhi today is earned — through thousands of workers, engineers, and officers acting together under a system of accountability. This is governance that works, not just promises that sound good,” Sirsa added.

Enlisting various steps taken in the past 24 hours, Sirsa said that garbage removed was 10,729 MT, roads swept was 6,414 km, construction and demolition waste lifted was 2,172 MT and roads sprinkled was 1,247 km with 605 KL water.

He said in the past 24 hours, as a result of vehicular pollution checks, about 12,068 challans were issued.

He stated that during this duration, total bio-mining of legacy waste stood at 15,277 MT. At Bhalaswa, 6,572 MT of waste was processed, at Okhla, it was 3,970 MT and at Ghazipur, it was 4,734 MT.

Sirsa said the government’s Winter Readiness Plan is already active, focusing on controlling road dust, ensuring mechanised sweeping, enforcing strict norms at construction sites, and operating mist sprayers in hotspots.

“We are ready for winter with a strong enforcement and monitoring system. Every ward is being tracked, anti-smog guns are operational across large construction projects, and our landfill bio-mining teams are working in full swing,” he said.

He added that Delhi’s 24x7 Environmental Action Plan — covering road cleaning, misting, green plantation drives, and hotspot monitoring — has made pollution control a year-round mission, not a seasonal campaign.

“The change is visible, the data is undeniable, and the momentum is unstoppable. Delhi is proving that sustained effort, smart technology, and collective resolve can clean the air we breathe,” Sirsa said.

--IANS

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