Data silos among regulatory agencies weaken enforcement. Assess how integrated command-and-control platforms can strengthen cooperative federalism in environmental regulation.

Pollution crosses State borders, but data about it is usually held separately by CPCB, the State boards and municipal bodies. In 2026 CAQM launched PAVAN-I3C, which brings more than 30 APIs and data streams into a single verified source [1]. It shows how shared data can turn federal coordination into enforcement, though only partly.

How data silos weaken enforcement

• Disputed numbers: each agency keeps its own data. This lets States shift blame, for example over stubble smoke from Punjab and Haryana.
• Manual, delayed reporting: violations come to light only after an episode has peaked, so enforcement stays reactive [1].
• Weak inputs: CAG found that Delhi's monitoring stations were not placed as CPCB norms require [6].

How integrated platforms strengthen cooperative federalism

• Shared facts: CAQM, CPCB and the SPCBs work from one dataset, so they stop arguing over whose figures are right. This supports CAQM's legal duty under its 2021 Act to coordinate Delhi and four States [1][2].
• Visible accountability: a State Action Plan module tracks pending actions by State and by sector [1]. It adds to the monthly ministerial reviews of State plans [3].
• Alert-based compliance: when a unit breaks a Statutory Direction, an alert goes automatically to the agency concerned. Over 2,300 industries (through OCEMS) and more than 3,200 construction sites are linked [1].
• Legal force: digital records provide evidence for closures. CAQM's OCEMS Cell has ordered non-compliant units to shut [4].
• Airshed governance: the shared view makes airshed-level planning possible, as the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended [5].

Sensors/Satellites/OCEMS → DETECT → ANALYSE → ACT: alert to SPCB/DPCC/ULB → status visible to CAQM and States

Figure: "Detect, Analyse, Act" cycle of PAVAN-I3C

Limitations

• Coverage gaps: CAQM has identified 3,551 units that must run OCEMS, but only about 2,300 are connected [1][4].
• Detecting is not acting: field staff still work under the States. A dashboard shows delays but cannot penalise them.
• Weak standards: NAAQS, last revised in 2009, are weaker than WHO guidance [5]. A "compliant" reading can still mean unsafe air.
• Privacy and transparency: camera surveillance raises privacy concerns, and little of the data is public.

Integrated platforms give cooperative federalism a shared base of evidence, but enforcement still depends on how much States can do on the ground. CAQM should publish State-wise data on alerts raised and resolved, bring all identified units online and push for revised NAAQS. Then PAVAN could become a model for NCAP cities and help secure the right to clean air under Article 21 and SDG 11.6.