Written by Sophiya MathewNew Delhi | October 5, 2025 05:33 AM IST 3 min read Chief Minister Rekha Gupta takes a boat ride during her visit to Yamuna Ghat at ITO on Saturday (Express/Praveen Khanna)With an eye on the upcoming winter season, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has directed its officials to daily inspect 13 pollution hotspots and 27 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (CAAQM) stations across the Capital to tighten its monitoring network, while also coming up with a uniform procedure for inspecting and taking action against grossly polluting industries (GPIs) discharging waste into the Yamuna river.The move to undertake daily inspections comes in compliance with the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) advisory issued in September, which directed cities not meeting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to take stronger preventive measures by identifying major sources and hotspots of air pollution for focused action.“Delhi Pollution Control Committee has identified 13 hotspots. Besides these 13 hotspots, CAAQM stations have been installed at 27 other locations in Delhi. There is a need for updating, monitoring, and reinventorising the point pollution sources around these areas,” the DPCC said in a recent order.Under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), junior and assistant environmental engineers have been tasked with visiting hotspots daily, maintaining GPS logs of their vehicles, and capturing geo-tagged and time-stamped photographs of all major point pollution sources such as construction sites, industrial emissions, or waste burning. They must analyse daily Air Quality Index (AQI) data, identify peak hours of pollution, and coordinate with agencies to deploy anti-smog guns, road-sweeping machines, and water sprinklers as needed.The SOP also mandates the creation of dedicated WhatsApp groups for each hotspot, including nodal officers from all relevant agencies, to ensure real-time information sharing and quick mitigation.Fishermen catching fish in River Yamuna full of Froth, at Okhla Barrage in New Delhi on Saturday (Express/Praveen Khanna)If a pollution source shows poor control measures for two consecutive days, the matter must be escalated to senior authorities, and in the event of sudden AQI spikes, the cell in charge must personally visit the area and submit an action taken report.The DPCC, meanwhile, has issued a separate SOP for grossly polluting industries – defined as industrial units discharging over 100 kg of biochemical oxygen demand per day or handling hazardous chemicals. These industries, spanning sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, pulp and paper, tanneries, and food processing, are seen as major contributors, as they directly or indirectly, through drains, pollute the Yamuna basin.Story continues below this adAs per the directive, inspections will be carried out jointly by DPCC officials and third-party technical experts, in line with CPCB’s “Standard Protocol for Conducting Inspections, Report Preparation and Action” issued in March 2023. The DPCC must take necessary action within 15 days of receiving inspection reports and upload its response on CPCB’s GPI portal.Industries found bypassing treatment systems or obstructing inspections will face immediate closure and electricity disconnection, along with penalties under Delhi’s Environmental Damage Compensation policy, the SOP said.Meanwhile, temporarily closed units will be re-inspected before resuming operations, while compliant industries will receive recommendation letters within 15 days. According to the SOP, the non-compliant ones will face show-cause notices and follow-up inspections within 30 days.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Delhi Pollution Control Committeedelhi yamuna river