CAQM expands PTZ Camera-based Remote Monitoring to all Industries covered under Direction No. 98 in NCR

1. At a Glance

• CAQM has extended its rule on installing and running Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras to every industry category covered by Statutory Direction No. 98. This brings fuel use, stack emissions and pollution-control compliance in NCR industries under live remote watch [1].
• The cameras stream live video over Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) to designated CPCB and SPCB/DPCC servers or portals. Regulators can then check compliance remotely and continuously, instead of relying only on site visits [1].
• Why it matters for UPSC:
• It shows the statutory powers of the CAQM Act, 2021 at work [6].
• It is an example of technology-enabled governance of pollution.
• It links with Direction No. 98's stricter PM emission standard of 50 mg/Nm³ [2].

2. Why in the News

• 16 Oct 2026: CAQM issued an Order making PTZ cameras compulsory for all industries under Direction No. 98. It replaces the Commission's earlier Order dated 05.10.2026 [1].
• Deadline: cameras must be installed and working, with live video transmission, by 30.11.2026 [1].
• Trigger: CAQM's Flying Squads found units using unapproved fuels during inspections across NCR. This showed that compliance monitoring needed strengthening [1].
• Timing: industrial emissions matter most in winter, when weather conditions stop pollutants from dispersing [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2021: Parliament enacted the CAQM in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 (Act No. 29 of 2021).
• Presidential assent: 12 Aug 2021.
• It is treated as in force from 13 Apr 2021 [6].

• It replaced Ordinance No. 4 of 2021 [6].

• Earlier industrial fuel directions:

• CAQM directed industries in the NCR parts of Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to switch to PNG or biomass fuel [5].

• It announced stringent action against heavy polluting fuels [8].

• 21 Feb 2026, Direction No. 98: CAQM set a uniform PM emission limit of 50 mg/Nm³ for the 17 CPCB highly polluting categories, Red-category industries, food processing and textile units with boilers or thermic fluid heaters, and metal industries with furnaces in NCR. It was based on CPCB recommendations and IIT Kanpur studies [2].

• 31 Jul 2026, amendment to Direction No. 98:
• The revised standard now applies from 1 Oct 2026 [3].

• Reasons: industries reported delays in installing pollution control devices and limited laboratory capacity, and CPCB recommended an extension [3].

• 05 Oct 2026: CAQM issued the first PTZ Order. It was replaced on 16 Oct 2026 by the wider Order covering all Direction No. 98 industries [1].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Issuing body	CAQM, under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) [1]
Enabling law	CAQM in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 (Act 29 of 2021) [6]
Jurisdiction	NCR, plus adjoining areas of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and UP for matters concerning NCR air pollution [6]
Nature of powers	Exclusive jurisdiction over matters covered by the Act [6]
Sub-committees	At least 3: Monitoring & Identification; Safeguarding & Enforcement; R&D [6]
Industries covered	(a) 17 categories of highly polluting industries (CPCB); (b) Red Category (Medium and Large) air-polluting industries; (c) Food & Food Processing and Textile units with boilers or thermic fluid heaters; (d) Metal industries with furnaces [1]
Where cameras go	Fuel-feeding/charging points of boilers, thermic fluid heaters, furnaces and kilns; gas meters/gauges (for gaseous-fuel units); stacks; OCEMS sampling/port-hole locations; fume extraction areas [1]
How feeds are sent	Continuous live RTSP feed to CPCB and SPCB/DPCC servers [1]
Unit obligations	Uninterrupted power with backup; maintenance; reporting any prolonged disruption to the SPCB/DPCC [1]
Deadline	30.11.2026 [1]
Infrastructure	CPCB, with the SPCBs/DPCC, sets up the portals and servers [1]
Compliance monitoring	SPCBs/DPCC in their own jurisdictions [1]
Implementing governments	Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and GNCTD [1]
Legal status	In addition to existing directions on emission norms, approved fuels and OCEMS [1]
Direction 98 PM limit	50 mg/Nm³, effective 1 Oct 2026 (after the amendment) [2][3]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Environmental

• Industrial PM comes from stacks and from fugitive emissions. Besides adding PM directly, it helps form secondary particulate matter [1].
• Watching fuel-feeding points tackles a root cause: the use of unapproved fuels [1].
• It complements the move to cleaner fuels (PNG/biomass) and the stricter 50 mg/Nm³ standard [5][2].

Scientific / Technological

• OCEMS reports emissions data. PTZ video adds a visual check on top of it, for example of tampering at sampling ports [1].
• Rules for night-time image clarity and "no significant blind spots" set real technical requirements, not a token installation [1].
• Analysis: these feeds could later support automated (AI/ML-based) anomaly detection.

Administrative

• Responsibilities are split: CAQM directs, CPCB builds the infrastructure, SPCBs/DPCC enforce, and state governments implement [1].
• Inspection data shows how large the enforcement gap is. In Hapur (UP), 16 of 22 units inspected were non-compliant and 12 show-cause notices were issued [4].
• Analysis: possible bottlenecks:
• limited server and bandwidth capacity at SPCBs;
• staff needed to actually watch the feeds;
• a tight timeline of about 6 weeks.

Economic

• Units, mainly MSMEs in food processing, textiles and metals, bear the cost of cameras, power backup and connectivity [1].
• Direction 98 was already delayed once because of difficulties in installing pollution control devices [3]. This points to compliance-cost pressure.

Legal / Governance

• The Order rests on the statutory direction-making power under the CAQM Act, which gives CAQM exclusive jurisdiction [6].
• Federalism: a central body directs state pollution control boards and state governments [1][6].
• Analysis:
• Gains: transparency, and less discretion and rent-seeking in physical inspections.
• Concerns: data governance and protection of industrial privacy.

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 21 Feb 2026: Direction No. 98 set the 50 mg/Nm³ PM standard [2].
• 31 Jul 2026: Direction No. 98 amended; timeline extended to 1 Oct 2026 [3].
• Sep 2026: special inspection in Hapur; 16 of 22 units non-compliant; 12 show-cause notices [4].
• 05 Oct 2026: first PTZ camera Order issued [1].
• 16 Oct 2026: expanded Order replaces it and covers all Direction 98 categories; deadline 30 Nov 2026 [1].
• Related: CAQM ran a 16-day enforcement drive covering industries, DG sets, C&D sites, road dust and biomass burning [9].
• Related: a statutory direction requires brick kilns in Haryana districts outside NCR and in Punjab to co-fire paddy-straw pellets or briquettes [10].

7. Prelims Hooks

• CAQM was set up under Act No. 29 of 2021, which replaced Ordinance No. 4 of 2021 [6].
• The CAQM Act is deemed in force from 13 April 2021; presidential assent came on 12 August 2021 [6].
• The CAQM Act covers adjoining areas of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and UP (only for NCR air-pollution matters) [6].
• CAQM has exclusive jurisdiction over matters under its Act [6].
• CAQM must have at least three sub-committees [6].
• Direction No. 98 sets a PM emission limit of 50 mg/Nm³ for specified NCR industries [2].
• The amended Direction No. 98 applies from 1 October 2026 [3].
• PTZ stands for Pan-Tilt-Zoom. Feeds are sent using RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) [1].
• PTZ cameras are required at OCEMS sampling/port-hole locations and at stacks [1].
• In gaseous-fuel units, cameras must show gas meters and gauges [1].
• The PTZ deadline is 30 November 2026 [1].
• CPCB (not CAQM) is responsible for the portals and servers that receive the feeds [1].
• The 16 Oct 2026 Order replaced the Order dated 5 October 2026 [1].
• Flying Squads are CAQM's inspection arm; they reported use of unapproved fuels [1].
• The Environmental Compensation for Stubble Burning Rules, 2023 were framed under the CAQM Act [7].

8. Who Will Actually Watch the Video?

• A camera records a violation. It does not stop one.
• The Order says where cameras must go and how the video must reach CPCB and SPCB/DPCC servers [1].
• It does not say who must watch the video, how often, or what must happen within how many hours of a violation being seen [1].

• Without that, the footage is only useful after something has gone wrong, as evidence. It cannot catch a violation while it is happening.

• We have seen this before: data reached the office but not the people who act

• In Karnataka, the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General, India's top government auditor) found that online emission data reached the central server at the State Pollution Control Board's head office.
• That data was not shared with the regional offices, which are the ones that inspect and take action. Meanwhile, 49 industries kept breaking the norms again and again [12].

• PTZ feeds also go to central servers and portals [1]. If they are not sent on to the district-level officers, the same thing can happen again.

• The boards that must do the watching are half empty

• In Rajya Sabha in April 2025, members said about 50% of posts in Pollution Control Boards across States and UTs are vacant [13].
• The Centre replied that filling these posts is the job of the State governments. It has only sent reminders [13].

• So CAQM has made a central rule, but the people needed to carry it out are hired by the States. CAQM cannot fill those posts itself.

• The polluting unit controls the camera's power switch

• Each unit must keep power backup running and must itself report any "prolonged disruption" to the SPCB/DPCC [1].
• A unit that wants to burn unapproved fuel at night only needs a "power cut" or a "network fault" to go dark.
• The Order does not define how long a "prolonged" disruption is, and it sets no automatic penalty for a dark feed [1].

9. What OCEMS Already Taught Us About Monitoring Machines

• OCEMS is the closest earlier example, and it shows how such tools fail
• OCEMS (Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System) means sensors fitted in a chimney that measure the smoke and send readings online without stopping.

• The PTZ Order is built on top of it. Cameras must watch the OCEMS sampling points [1].

• Installation deadlines slipped by years

• In Gujarat, the CAG found that 67 highly polluting units had still not installed OCEMS more than six years after the 2015 deadline, even though it was compulsory [11].

• The PTZ deadline gives about six weeks (16 Oct to 30 Nov 2026) [1]. If boards could not enforce OCEMS in six years, six weeks needs a clear follow-up plan for units that miss it.

• The machine reading and the real reading did not match

• The same Gujarat audit found a large gap between manual tests and the readings sent by the online sensors [11].
• This is the exact problem PTZ cameras are meant to solve: they let regulators see if someone is tampering at the sampling port [1].

• So cameras are a fair answer to a real, documented weakness. They are not just a show of technology.

• Checking found problems in most units

• A government verification of OCEMS in 865 industries led to recommendations of notices in 530 cases [15].
• That is roughly six in ten units checked. Installing a system is not the same as using it honestly.

10. Is This Unfair to Small Units? The Strongest Objection

• The objection, at its strongest
• Many covered units are MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in food processing, textiles and metals [1].
• In one year they face three new demands: the 50 mg/Nm³ standard [2], approved fuels [5][8], and now cameras with power backup and a constant internet link [1].
• Direction 98 itself had to be delayed because units could not install control devices in time and testing labs were too few [3].

• The problem is also not a lack of information. Flying Squads and the Hapur inspection already caught violators without any cameras [1][4]. So why add a cost, instead of acting on what inspectors already find?

• What the objection gets right

• The cost falls equally on a small unit and a large one. The Order gives no support or longer timeline for smaller units [1].

• Six weeks is short, given that the PM standard needed an extension for similar reasons [3].

• Why the camera still makes sense

• An inspection only shows one moment. A unit can switch back to dirty fuel the day after the squad leaves. A camera watches all 24 hours [1].
• In Hapur, 16 of 22 units were non-compliant [4]. That shows how much is missed between visits. It does not show that visits alone are enough.

• A feed that can be checked remotely also means fewer physical visits. Each visit is a chance for an officer to demand a bribe or to look the other way.

• Fair conclusion: the rule is right. The weak points are the timeline and the absence of help for the smallest units.

11. What Should Happen After 30 November

• CPCB and SPCBs: send the video to the officers who act, not only to headquarters
• The CAG's Karnataka audit shows that data kept at the head office does not lead to action [12].

• Regional SPCB offices and CAQM Flying Squads should get the live feeds and alerts directly.

• CAQM: match the camera with the OCEMS reading

• Gujarat showed that sensor data can differ from real emissions [11].

• When an OCEMS reading looks suspicious, the officer should check the camera footage of the same chimney at the same time. If both show a problem, a Flying Squad visit should follow.

• CAQM: treat a dark camera as a violation

• A missing feed should start a fixed process: a warning first, then an inspection, and then Environmental Compensation (a fine paid for the damage caused), as CAQM already does in other areas [7].

• The Order should say exactly how long a "prolonged disruption" is [1].

• State governments: fill Pollution Control Board posts

• The Centre has told Parliament that filling vacancies is a State responsibility [13].

• Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and GNCTD are named as implementing governments in the Order [1]. They should be held to a staffing timeline.

• Extend the logic to the whole airshed

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change (December 2025) recommended planning and enforcement at the airshed level, not the State level [14].
• An airshed is the whole area that shares the same air, no matter where State borders lie.
• The PTZ Order covers only industries in NCR [1]. A unit just outside the NCR boundary pollutes the same air but is not watched.
• The same Committee said non-compliant units should switch to cleaner fuels or be closed in an orderly way [14]. Camera footage gives the evidence needed for that decision.

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Hapur special inspection: 16 of 22 industrial units non-compliant, 12 show-cause notices [4]
• Data: About 50% of posts vacant in Pollution Control Boards across States/UTs (Rajya Sabha, April 2025) [13]
• Data: OCEMS verification in 865 industries led to recommended notices in 530 cases [15]
• Report/Committee: CAG Performance Audit of Air Pollution Control, Gujarat (Report No. 2 of 2022): 67 highly polluting units without OCEMS six years after the deadline; manual and sensor data did not match [11]
• Report/Committee: CAG Compliance Audit, Karnataka (Report No. 3 of 2023): online data not passed to regional offices; 49 industries repeatedly breached norms [12]
• Report/Committee: Parliamentary Standing Committee on S&T, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, report on Air Pollution in Delhi NCR (12 Dec 2025): airshed-level enforcement; clean fuel or closure for non-compliant units [14]
• Law/Case: CAQM in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 (Act 29 of 2021): gives CAQM exclusive jurisdiction and the power to issue directions [6]
• Scheme: National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): the national, city-level framework that NCR industrial enforcement feeds into [7]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Environment (conservation, environmental pollution and degradation); science and technology in everyday governance.
• GS-II: Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies; Centre–State relations in regulation; e-governance.
• Possible question stems: 1. Technology-enabled remote surveillance can bridge the enforcement deficit in industrial pollution control. Evaluate this with reference to recent CAQM directions in NCR. (15 marks) 2. Examine whether the Commission for Air Quality Management has resolved the problem of multiplicity of authorities in NCR air-quality governance. (10 marks) 3. Discuss the challenges MSMEs face in complying with stricter emission norms, and suggest measures that balance clean air with livelihoods. (15 marks)

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP): CAQM coordinates how it is implemented across NCR [7].
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): the national framework for city-level air-quality action [7].
• OCEMS and CPCB's industry categories (Red/Orange/Green/White; 17 highly polluting categories): the basis of Direction No. 98's coverage.
• Stubble burning and Environmental Compensation Rules, 2023: a major winter source tackled under the same Act [7].
• Clean-fuel transition (PNG/biomass) in NCR industries: what the PTZ cameras are meant to check [5].
• Brick-kiln paddy-straw co-firing direction: how CAQM uses its "adjoining areas" jurisdiction [10].
• Secondary particulate matter (sulphates, nitrates): the science behind industrial emissions and winter smog [1].

15. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Commission for Air Quality Management (Geography): CAQM is the statutory body issuing Direction No. 98 and the camera Order; know its powers and jurisdiction.
• Central Pollution Control Board (Polity): CPCB builds the servers and portals that receive the camera feeds and coordinates State Pollution Control Boards.
• Particulate matter (Geography): Direction 98's 50 mg/Nm³ limit targets particulate matter, which drives winter smog.
• Centre-state relations (Polity): A central commission directs State boards and State governments, raising questions of federal division of regulatory duties.
• Comptroller and Auditor General (Polity): CAG audits of Gujarat and Karnataka are the note's evidence of weak emission-monitoring enforcement.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong body: CAQM is a statutory commission under the 2021 Act. It is not CPCB, and it is not the old EPCA. CPCB runs the video infrastructure and SPCBs/DPCC check compliance [1][6].
• Wrong scope: the 16 Oct Order covers all Direction 98 categories. The 5 Oct Order was replaced, not added to [1].
• Dates mixed up:
• Direction 98 issued: Feb 2026.
• PM standard effective: 1 Oct 2026.

• PTZ deadline: 30 Nov 2026 [1][2][3].

• Wrong replacement assumption: PTZ monitoring works alongside OCEMS and emission norms; it does not replace them [1].

• Wrong jurisdiction: Punjab is not part of NCR. It falls only within CAQM's "adjoining areas" jurisdiction [6]. The PTZ Order names only Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and GNCTD [1].