NEW DELHI: At the ‘Aironomics 2025’ summit held in the capital on Saturday, CM Rekha Gupta said her government was committed to tackling the city’s air crisis through strong and clear measures — from scrapping old vehicles to shifting entirely to electric public transport by 2028.
“We have lost clean air, and we are all responsible for it,” Gupta said while addressing the summit on the theme ‘A New Air Agenda: Pathways for Scale and Systematic Impact’. She noted that the Delhi government had drawn up a detailed action plan within its first 100 days, including a scrapping policy for end-of-life vehicles.
“Old cars will not be allowed to run. Petrol and diesel vehicles whose life has ended will be removed. We have made a scheme for this,” Gupta said.
Gupta added that Delhi’s public transport would transition completely to electric vehicles (EVs). “In the first phase, we have brought in 400 electric buses, which we call DEVI. Another 200 will be added. By 2028, all buses will be EVs,” she said, highlighting that over 4,000 EV charging stations are being installed across the city.
She also announced the introduction of strict rules for construction activities. “SOPs will be issued. High-rise buildings must install water sprinklers. Smog guns, water pumps, and other machines will be deployed to keep the air clean,” she said.
The Aironomics summit was hosted by the think tank Council for International Economic Understanding (CIEU) under the Bharat Climate Forum and was organised in collaboration with advisory firm Dalberg. It aimed to position clean air not just as a public health necessity but also as central to India’s economic and development goals.
Proposals presented at the event included GPS tracking of construction sites, mechanical road sweepers, AI-based monitoring of over 2,000 projects through a centralised command centre, and scrapping 33% of diesel and CNG trucks. Recommendations also included replacing 33,000 diesel buses with EVs or CNG and providing LPG to families living in non-notified slums.
BJP MP from northeast Delhi, Manoj Tiwari, who also addressed the summit, spoke about the city’s growing landfill sites. “The three garbage mountains will be cleared. The Centre and Delhi governments are working together for the betterment of the people, so they don’t have to move out of the city,” he said.
Arvind Nautiyal, Member Secretary of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), emphasised the importance of public participation and city-level action in achieving clean air. “We have put a structural plan in place. In 90 cities, pollution is now showing a declining trend. But cities must act locally. Plans should be public-centric and guided by experts,” he said.
He also stressed the need to involve citizens more actively. “There should be a proper complaint redressal system. People should feel they have the right to clean air and a say in how it’s protected,” Nautiyal added. “We also need to create leadership locally, inside cities. That’s how real change will happen.”
The event was attended by senior officials from the Centre and various states, along with representatives from global institutions such as the World Bank, WHO, UNEP, and others. Key themes discussed included carbon markets, green bonds, real-time air quality technology, and community-driven solutions.