Delhi-NCR Faces Strict Crackdown on Waste Burning and Landfill Fires

India's highest air pollution monitor, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), has promulgated stringent new regulations to combat Delhi-NCR's free waste burning and garbage dump fires. The 3 June 2025 order prescribes the modalities of enforcement by local authorities and pollution boards capable of mitigating emissions of such harmful pollutants like PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and harmful chemicals like dioxins and furans.

This move comes after rising concern over deteriorating air quality in and around New Delhi, which always features on the world's most polluted cities list. Open burning of municipal solid waste and frequent fires on landfills are significant contributors to the region's air quality issue, particularly during winter when temperature inversion traps emissions close to the ground.

According to the guideline, site fire hazard evaluation will be mandatory for all dumpsites and landfill operators in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and other NCR regions. Installation of methane gas monitors and CCTV cameras at landfill sites is mandatory. All these are aimed at making early detection of potential fire incidents, particularly in risk-vulnerable waste dumps where methane production is a proven risk.

The local government is also required to carry out bio-mining and bioremediation of old waste, which is a primary cause of the sudden outbreak of landfill fires. The directive also necessitates frequent fire safety inspections, simulated drills for emergency response teams, including the establishment of a network of fire fighters, nocturnal patrols, and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for sanitary staff.

Special surveillance measures need to be followed at windrow sites, where putrescent wastes are being treated in open piles. Windrows possess an aptitude for self-ignition owing to greater internal temperatures. CAQM instructed the application of infrared thermometers for pile temperature monitoring at frequent intervals to avoid surprise flare-ups.

In a step that is characteristic of a zero-tolerance approach, the commission has prohibited on-the-spot open burning of green municipal waste and biomass throughout the region, particularly at transit dumping grounds and during night shifts when monitoring is typically weak. Municipal civic bodies must now improve their collection, segregation, and disposal chain as per Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Increased enforcement will be carried out in the autumn-winter season when air quality tends to deteriorate due to stagnation conditions in the atmosphere. Tough patrolling by civic bodies, particularly at locations predisposed to open burning, has been directed for enforcement.

Training of workers and public education have also been given importance. The order directs the urban local bodies to conduct awareness campaigns to create public awareness regarding the health and environmental hazard of open burning of waste. Capacity-building workshops will also be conducted for the sanitation workers to render them professionally competent for tackling and managing the threat of fire and waste management.

In an attempt to improve accountability, the CAQM also calls for quarterly compliance reports by the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). These reports must be accompanied by information in the form of details on fire incidents, prevention action taken, and contraventions of the new waste-burning ban.

Such authorities defaulting these guidelines are liable to be punished under Clause 14 of the CAQM Act, 2021. The commission further clarified that these new instructions are not isolated but have to be obeyed in harmony with the prevailing orders passed under the Supreme Court, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Central Pollution Control Board.

With emphasis on uniform implementation and inter-agency coordination, the CAQM wishes to address one of the main reasons for pollution in the National Capital Region. The regulator has directed the urban civic bodies, municipal waste management authorities, and pollution watchdog agencies to ensure that these steps are implemented not only on paper but strictly on the ground.

This new policy direction also mirrors the growing need to combat environmental concerns with respect to solid waste disposal, given Delhi-NCR's persistent air quality woes. All experts concur that reducing landfill fires and prohibiting waste burning are significant measures towards meeting the goal of enhanced air quality and public health for the region.

Dependence on alert monitoring, active co-operation of the people, and stringent punishment for defaulters would make this crackdown a success. If implemented seriously, the directive has the potential to become a turning point in India's most populous city's waste management and control of air pollution efforts.

Source: Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)