Gurgaon: The city continues to struggle with road dust due to a glaring shortage of mechanical road sweepers. Though the city has 287 km of roads wider than 60 feet, requiring 38 large mechanical road sweeping machines (MRSMs), only 18 are operational, leaving a deficit of 20, data shows. This gap remains despite repeated directives from the CAQM, which mandated strict technical and operational standards for mechanised sweeping across the NCR. Bridging this shortfall is estimated to cost Rs 26 crore, but procurement is still awaiting administrative approval. MRSMs are specialised vehicles that sweep and vacuum fine dust while spraying water to suppress particles. Dust collected is stored in hoppers and filtered to prevent re-release into the air. CAQM mandated that new fleets must run on CNG or electric power.The issue is particularly acute in Gurgaon, where road dust is a major contributor to particulate pollution, worsened by traffic, construction activity, and unpaved shoulders. During dry months, CAQM warned that road dust spikes PM10 levels and contributes to PM2.5 through re-suspension.Auxiliary dust-control measures also fall short. Gurgaon requires 40 water sprinklers during Grap periods but has only 30. Similarly, just 13 mobile anti-smog guns are available against a requirement of 24, with funding for additional units pending.The problem extends beyond wide roads. Gurgaon also has 99.64 km of medium-width roads and 311.16 km of narrow roads, but no medium or small MRSMs were deployed or even proposed. This leaves over 410 km of the city’s road network outside the mechanised sweeping framework, in violation of CAQM norms that require separate machines for different road widths.In its latest direction dated Feb 10, CAQM laid down uniform technical and operational norms for mechanised sweeping across NCR, flagging road dust as a dominant contributor to PM10 and a significant source of PM2.5, especially during dry months. The commission directed that MRSMs must be deployed strictly according to road width, with separate specifications for large, medium and small roads. Machines must be equipped with integrated water spraying and particulate matter filtration systems to prevent re-suspension of dust. It also mandated that MRSMs operate for at least eight hours per shift, follow declared sweeping schedules, run on CNG or electric fuel in new fleets, and ensure scientific disposal of collected dust to prevent its re-entry into ambient air.Experts cautioned that mechanised sweeping, while useful, cannot be seen as a silver bullet. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said focusing only on mechanical road sweepers will not solve Gurgaon’s dust problem. Roychowdhury said cities need a road redevelopment approach, where entire road networks are rebuilt with properly paved carriageways, footpaths and shoulders, avenue greening and well-designed drains, all of which directly reduce dust generation. “Otherwise, sweeping and water sprinkling become a never-ending exercise. You collect dust, dump it somewhere, and it re-enters the air. Even the fuel used to run these machines adds to pollution. Without fixing the roads themselves, sweepers alone cannot control dust,” she added.TOI earlier reported on how loose dust remains widespread across Gurgaon, from dug-up roads to exposed construction materials and garbage trucks. Busy areas such as MG Road, Udyog Vihar, Sector 29, Sushant Lok 1, Galleria Market Road, IFFCO Chowk, Atlas Chowk, and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road are particularly affected. According to the pollution board, the size of dust particles determines their health hazard. Larger particles can cause skin and eye irritation, while inhalable fine particles penetrate the respiratory tract, leading to asthma, pneumonia, and allergic rhinitis.
