Millennium City turns into dust bowl amid relentless construction

Often described as a city perpetually “under construction,” Gurugram has nearly 5,000 ongoing construction projects at any given time. While this rapid pace of development has fuelled its rise as one of India’s top realty markets, the unchecked dust pollution from these sites has turned the city into a choking dust bowl.

Despite repeated directives from the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), less than 15 per cent of construction sites have registered on the state’s dust portal or implemented required dust mitigation measures.

“The new Gurugram has always been under construction — from real estate projects to government infrastructure works. The area has turned into a dust bowl. The dust from these sites directly contributes to higher AQI levels,” said Praveen Malik, president, United Association of New Gurugram. “The saddest part is that while construction dust contributes majorly to pollution, our authorities don’t acknowledge it, and enforcement is lacking.”

The rising levels of dust and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), largely originating from construction and demolition (C&D) activities, are posing serious health threats to residents, making them vulnerable to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

“We have many patients coming in with symptoms of COPD, and the key reason is prolonged construction activity in their vicinity. Initially, it was workers who were vulnerable, but now even children and senior citizens living nearby are being affected,” said Dr Varun Dahiya, a local pulmonologist.

To tackle the menace, the DTCP had mandated that all C&D sites over 500 square metres register on the Haryana State Pollution Control Board’s (HSPCB) dust portal. The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) had also instructed 16 developers to list their ongoing projects on the same platform for monitoring dust emissions.

However, officials admit that enforcement remains poor, with the majority of projects ignoring the orders.

“The mandate is there, but who cares? The government isn’t even acknowledging that unchecked dust from construction sites is worsening AQI levels,” said Vaishali Rana, an environmentalist with the Aravalli Bachao Movement. “The city is choking, yet construction goes on unchecked — even at night. Many projects, including government ones, openly violate norms. It seems our lives are cheaper than multi-crore realty projects.”

The DTCP’s 14-point dust mitigation guidelines include the use of anti-smog guns, water sprinklers, dust barrier sheets, raised barricades and covering air-borne construction material and C&D waste. Sites are also required to install PM2.5 and PM10 sensors and maintain 360-degree video surveillance for real-time monitoring.