Delhi’s Winter Pollution Plan: Promises vs Ground Reality

10-point winter action plan 2026 – 27

On October 20, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the government's Winter Action Plan, scheduled to run from November 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027, with different timelines for individual measures.

1. ‘No PUCC, No Fuel’ in Mission Mode

Under the ‘No PUCC, No Fuel’ policy, vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate will not be given fuel. At 500 petrol pumps across Delhi, cameras will scan vehicle number plates to check compliance. Petrol pumps that fail to follow the rule may also face action.

2. Public Transport First - last mile connectivity

The government aims to encourage people to use public transport through the Delhi Metro Sarthi App. All 228 Metro stations have last-mile transport options, and Delhi's bus fleet has grown to 6,840 buses, including 5,088 electric buses.

3. Hotspot Action Plan

Government plans regular visits to pollution and traffic hotspots to address congestion, illegal parking, encroachments and waste dumping. It says 42 hotspots have already been improved, and eight more are targeted for October. Eight road stretches have also been made signal-free, with seven more targeted for completion by October 2026. One-way traffic trials and other measures will be used to reduce congestion.

4. Road Redevelopment and Dust Mitigation

Government also says 1,193 kilometres of roads have been redeveloped, with the remaining work targeted for completion by November 15. It also aims to pave footpaths fully to reduce dust and improve walkability. Complaints are expected to be resolved within 72 hours.

5. Prevent Open Waste Burning

The government plans to improve waste collection, clean public spaces and prevent the burning of garbage. It says the number of Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines has increased from 76 last year to 98. Special teams will monitor waste burning across Delhi, while heating booths will be set up on a trial basis for people during winter. Extra attention will be given to unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters.

6. Focus on Greening

Government says it has planted 71 lakh trees and plants and made 433 out of 434 acres of barren land green. It also stressed the need to ensure these plants survive.

7.Waste to Wealth

The government plans to make Malba App registration compulsory for building plan approvals. To control dust, demolition and outdoor construction work that creates dust will be banned from November 1 to January 31. All construction and demolition activities will be banned from December 10 to January 20.

8. Winter Protocol

The government plans to restrict older, polluting vehicles from entering Delhi from November 1, except CNG and electric vehicles. It will also double parking charges, introduce different office timings and encourage 50% of employees to work from home.

9. Parivartan Yojana and EV Outreach

The government plans to promote its EV Policy 2026 and offer higher incentives to scrap old vehicles. It will also organise registration camps in October and November to help more people benefit from the Parivartan Scheme.

10. Mitigating Industrial Pollution

Government plans to take stricter action against polluting industries, use an AI-powered control centre and increase pollution monitoring stations from 47 to 60. It will also deploy 334 enforcement teams, improve public complaint systems and daily AQI updates, and strengthen pollution-control efforts across the NCR.

What happened before the plan was announced?

On October 13, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reviewed pollution-mitigation measures at Anand Vihar, one of the city's identified pollution hotspots.

During the event, 150 electric buses were flagged off at Swami Vivekanand ISBT, public EV charging stations were inaugurated at five locations, and 13 new continuous air-quality monitoring stations were inaugurated across Delhi.

The government also showcased DPCC's AI-enabled Integrated Command and Control Centre at Shastri Park, which is intended to help monitor pollution-related data and support enforcement.