CURRENT AFFAIRS | 23 APRIL 2026
The News Trigger
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, directed officials to fast-track rollout of a real-time source apportionment study for the national capital’s air. The 5-year project, led by IIT Delhi, focuses on PM10 — particulate matter up to 10 micrometres in diameter — and replaces episodic assessments with continuous, dynamic source identification. Companion plans include an AI-enabled pollution-control tie-up with IIT Kanpur for forecasting.
What Makes This Study Different
- Re-operationalised Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) supersite with advanced analysers.
- Online sampling + mobile monitoring vans + ceilometers + greenhouse-gas analysers + multi-channel samplers.
- IIT Delhi Sonipat supersite for comparative upwind/downwind assessment.
- Dynamic apportionment identifies dust, transport, industry, biomass burning and regional transport contributions in real time — enabling GRAP to be deployed more surgically.
- Emission inventory updates; at least 30 days of seasonal sampling at each hotspot; 5-year horizon.
Earlier PM2.5 work was done by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). Current AQI readings underscore the urgency: Anand Vihar 305 (Very Poor), Narela 269, Jahangirpuri 304, Rohini 286.
Environmental Law Framework
- Article 21 — right to life includes right to clean environment (Subhash Kumar, 1991).
- Article 48A (DPSP) — duty to protect & improve environment, safeguard forests & wildlife (42nd Amendment, 1976).
- Article 51A(g) — fundamental duty of every citizen to protect the environment.
- Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 — enacted under Art 253 post-Stockholm Declaration 1972.
- Environment Protection Act, 1986 — umbrella statute; issued EIA Notification 2006.
- National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 — specialised environmental adjudication.
- CAQM Act, 2021 — created the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas to notify and enforce GRAP.
- National Clean Air Programme (NCAP, 2019) — targets PM10/PM2.5 reduction in 131 non-attainment cities.
Judicial Markers — Environment Edition
M.C. Mehta v Union of India (odd-even, CNG, PUC cases) — multi-decade SC activism on Delhi air.
Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar (1991) — right to pollution-free water & air under Art 21.
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v UoI (1996) and A.P. Pollution Control Board v M.V. Nayudu (1999) — Precautionary Principle and Polluter Pays as part of Indian environmental jurisprudence.
M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath (1997) — Public Trust Doctrine: State holds natural resources in trust for the public.
CLAT Angle
Likely questions: (a) Precautionary Principle vs Polluter Pays Principle; (b) CAQM vs CPCB vs DPCC — which does what; (c) GRAP stages (I to IV) and triggers; (d) Public Trust Doctrine jurisprudence; (e) difference between Air Act 1981 and EPA 1986 mechanisms; (f) Article 253 and international treaty domestication.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Lead institution | IIT Delhi (companion: IIT Kanpur) |
| Duration | 5 years; 30+ days seasonal sampling per hotspot |
| Primary focus | PM10 (earlier PM2.5 by IITM) |
| AQI 301–400 | Very Poor (CPCB) |
| Anand Vihar AQI | 305 (Very Poor, 22 Apr 2026) |
| Regulator | CAQM (2021); DPCC for Delhi NCT |
Mnemonic: “PPP-PTD” — the 4 Principles
Precautionary Principle · Polluter Pays · Public Trust Doctrine · Sustainable Development. Case anchor for each: Vellore → Enviro-Legal Action → Kamal Nath → Vellore/Narmada. Memorise the quartet — CLAT loves them.
Why ‘Source Apportionment’ is the Game-Changer
Traditional monitoring tells you that the air is bad. Source apportionment tells you why — what fraction is transport, what is construction dust, what is stubble-burning drift, what is industry. Without this granular attribution, GRAP responses are blunt. Real-time apportionment flips the policy from reactive (shutting schools at AQI 400) to anticipatory (throttling specific sources before the threshold trips).
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
