Nearly one in every two inspections CAQM carried out over 17 days turned up a violation. That ratio is the real story behind this enforcement update.
What the Enforcement Drive Found
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), reviewing enforcement status at its 140th Enforcement Task Force meeting on October 1, 2026, reported 197 inspections carried out across Delhi-NCR between September 8 and 24, covering construction and demolition sites, industrial units, and diesel generator sets. Of these, 111 inspections targeted industry, including 22 from a special drive, while 76 covered diesel generators and 10 covered construction sites.
The inspections turned up 85 violations overall, split roughly between 49 industrial cases, 28 diesel-generator-related cases, and 8 construction and demolition cases. CAQM has recommended closure of four construction projects and one industrial unit, sealing of 28 diesel generator sets, and compliance orders in 17 cases, with environmental compensation proposed in 10 of them.
Where the Violations Were Concentrated
A special inspection drive in Loni, Ghaziabad, found all 21 units checked non-compliant, with furnaces running without proper stack systems or pollution control devices, missing operational consent, operations in non-conforming areas, and the use of prohibited fuels including coal. A separate special inspection in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh covering 22 premises found only 5 compliant, with one unit already sealed by the state board.
As of October 1, CAQM's cumulative enforcement record across NCR stood at 28,744 units inspected, 1,831 closure directions issued, and 1,488 resumption orders granted to units that came back into compliance, with 216 resumption requests still pending review.
Why Industrial Units Keep Showing Up in These Numbers
Industrial units account for the largest share of violations in this round, and the Loni findings point to a familiar pattern: furnaces and process units running without any functioning stack-level pollution control, often because the equipment was never installed in the first place rather than having failed after installation. That gap is specifically what air pollution control equipment and continuous stack monitoring are built to close, and it is consistently cheaper to install ahead of an inspection than to absorb a closure order and compensation demand after one.
What This Means for Units Still Non-Compliant
With CAQM's enforcement task force meeting on a roughly 17-day cycle and resumption orders taking time to process even after compliance is restored, every additional week an industrial unit runs without proper pollution control equipment is a week of exposure to the next inspection round, not a week it is likely to go unnoticed.
Key Highlights
- CAQM conducted 197 enforcement inspections across NCR between September 8 and 24
- 85 violations were found, concentrated in industrial units and diesel generators
- A special Loni, Ghaziabad drive found all 21 inspected units non-compliant
- Cumulative NCR enforcement now covers 28,744 units inspected since the drive began
