The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act, 2021 was a legislative step to replace judicial governance of Delhi's air pollution. Has it succeeded? Analyse the institutional design, powers, and limitations of CAQM.

Q. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act, 2021 was a legislative step to replace judicial governance of Delhi's air pollution. Has it succeeded? Analyse the institutional design, powers, and limitations of CAQM. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

The CAQM Act, 2021 created a Parliament-backed statutory commission for NCR and adjoining areas, replacing the Supreme Court-created EPCA (1998) and shifting air-quality governance from judicial improvisation to legislative mandate. Five years on, CAQM has built institutional capacity but not yet delivered outcomes — a partial success at best.

Institutional design: a genuine advance - Airshed-based jurisdiction covering Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, UP and Rajasthan answers the core problem that pollution ignores state boundaries; CAQM's own expert review confirms transboundary movement of pollutants across the airshed [1]. - Its orders override State Pollution Control Boards and urban bodies, resolving the federal fragmentation EPCA could never surmount [2]. - Expert-driven functioning: a 33-member panel from IITs, academia and research institutes produced a source-apportionment meta-analysis (2015–25) [1].

Powers: statutory teeth - Section 12 directions, backed by penalties up to ₹1 crore and five years' imprisonment, exceed Environment Protection Act, 1986 sanctions; CAQM has issued 78 directions and 11 advisories and deployed CPCB inspection teams [2]. - Year-round operationalisation of GRAP (notified by MoEFCC), with graded invocation and revocation tied to AQI thresholds [3].

Limitations: why success remains partial - Outcome deficit: Delhi's 2025 annual PM2.5 of 97 µg/m³ and PM10 of 198 µg/m³, though the best since 2018, remain far above NAAQS (40 and 60 µg/m³) and NCAP's 40% reduction target [4][5]. - Epistemic gap: in January 2026 the Supreme Court held CAQM "failing in its duty" for seeking two months merely to identify pollution sources — enforcement preceded diagnosis [6]. - Diffused sources: secondary particulates (27%) and transport (23%) dominate winter PM2.5, demanding behavioural and inter-sectoral change beyond seasonal bans [1]. - Continued judicial supervision itself shows the legislative substitution is incomplete.

CAQM has correctly diagnosed the institutional problem but under-delivered on outcomes. Converting its directions into verifiable, source-specific and year-round compliance — with citizens treated as co-responsible actors, as the Court urged — would let statutory governance finally displace judicial oversight and give Article 21's right to clean air real content.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. CAQM Reviews Supreme Court-Mandated Expert Report at 27th Meeting; PM2.5 Identified as Key Pollutant in Delhi — PIB, Feb 2026 — 33-expert panel, transboundary airshed effect, winter PM2.5 source shares 2. Commission for Air Quality Management — PIB — CAQM Act 2021 constitution, override of State PCBs, 78 directions/11 advisories, CPCB inspections 3. CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP revokes Stage-IV of revised GRAP in the entire NCR — PIB — GRAP operationalisation by CAQM 4. During 2018-2025, Delhi witnessed its lowest average PM10 and PM2.5 concentration levels — PIB — 2025 PM2.5 97 µg/m³, PM10 198 µg/m³ 5. NCAP targets to achieve reductions up to 40% of PM10 concentrations by 2025-26 — PIB — NCAP target and NAAQS benchmark 6. SC gives two weeks to CAQM to identify all major sources of pollution in Delhi-NCR — NewsOnAir (Prasar Bharati), Jan 7, 2026 — Supreme Court's censure and "sufferers as contributors" observation