Gurgaon: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to Haryana govt and other authorities on a plea alleging that road dust is the biggest contributor to PM10 pollution in the city and that no effective steps were taken to control it.The tribunal said on Tuesday the applicant raised concerns over what he described as a “worsening air pollution crisis” in the city, driven mainly by dust from roads and construction-related activity. The applicant told the tribunal that authorities “failed to implement meaningful measures on the ground” to curb rising dust levels.An affidavit filed by the applicant on Feb 20 said to the best of his knowledge, the issue was not pending before Supreme Court. The matter in the current plea was also posted for further hearing on March 18.A bench comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad directed the issuance of notice to the respondents. The applicant was asked to serve them and file an affidavit of service at least one week before the next date of hearing.The order comes against the backdrop of a TOI report earlier this month that said nearly one in three roads in Gurgaon was also earmarked for redevelopment because of ‘poor surface quality and high dust generation’.Official records show that about 30% of the city’s 2,400km road network — over 700 km — was listed for upgrades under a new road dust control plan for 2026–27, with a projected outlay of Rs 1,971 crore. The documents highlight how broken and poorly maintained stretches continue to undermine the city’s air pollution control efforts. According to the order, the applicant also submitted that agencies were not taking effective remedial action to control dust emissions, which substantially add to fine particulate matter in the air. Pankaj Yadav, a resident of Sector 22, told TOI, “Road dust remains the biggest contributor to PM10 pollution in Gurgaon, yet authorities did not take any effective steps to control it. Ensuring smooth roads, proper greening and maintaining pavements are all basic, doable tasks, but civic agencies are not doing them. We are suffering because of their inaction.”TOI also consistently reported on how Gurgaon’s road dust problem deepened in the absence of sustained enforcement. Earlier this month, TOI highlighted a separate plea heard by NGT on Feb 24, where another applicant flagged road and construction dust as the biggest contributor to PM10 levels and alleged that authorities did not take “effective steps” to control it. The tribunal then issued notices to the Haryana govt and civic agencies in the matter.According to the pollution board, dust particle size determines the potential hazard to human health. Particles larger than 10 μg/m³ and 2.5 μg/m³ are not breathable and thus can only damage external organs, while finer particles may penetrate the lower respiratory tract and enter the bloodstream, affecting internal organsand potentially triggering cardiovascular disorders.
