Construction and air pollution – finding an environmentally sound way out

Gagan Anand
Legacy Law Offices, New Delhi, Delhi

Judicial activism in India has always held an integral place in the advancement towards climate change mitigation. Since time immemorial, the Supreme Court has passed landmark judgments and directions to uphold the rights of the individuals to live in a healthy environment. In this journey, the recent past where the Court upheld the fundamental right to be free from climate change^[1] has only been a reflection of the continuing quest to work towards a sustainable future.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court of India, while dealing with an ongoing environmental protection case,^[2] was tasked with a unique issue pertaining to the annual increase in the pollution levels within the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the overall implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the State Government, the effect of which had been reportedly insignificant during the year.

Faced with a distinctive dilemma of restraining from legislative intrusion while simultaneously working towards its goal of upholding the fundamental right to be free from adverse effects of climate change, the Court gave directions to the State to implement Phase IV of GRAP, whereby a complete ban was imposed on non-essential construction activities within the State, due to the latter activity’s contribution to the generation of solid waste, ultimately resulting in an increase in air pollution rates. It was further resolved that the Court will deal with the issues concerning the environmentally sound management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste across the country, which is a growing issue in the struggle towards climate change mitigation.

The observations and the order of the Court raised an important, yet often avoided, issue relating to the role played by the construction industry in adding to the air pollution levels of India. Being an active participant to the production of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 – the cause of many diseases and severe illnesses – the construction industry has been enjoying informal leeway in its duty towards becoming environmentally sound, due to its significant role in supporting India’s economic growth.

However, with the rising environmental concerns, and the recent goal of India to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070,^[3] this leeway may have become a threat to the overall stance being taken by the country in working towards reducing its carbon footprint.

The struggle to breathe

According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, India ranked fifth in the list of 138 countries, regions and territories contributing to global air pollution.^[4] An independent report published on 8 January 2025 specified that, out of the 100 cities reviewed at a global level, 84 lie within the Indian sub-continent, including Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Meerut.^[5]

India has been on a continuous struggle to catch its breath as pollution levels soar every year. With PM 2.5 being a common enemy, various government departments have been constrained to undertake periodic initiatives to cause an overall reduction of the Air Quality Index (AQI), which has reportedly been under the ‘poor’ category for many cities across the year.

In the case of Delhi, a city known for its rampant air quality management issues, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), has developed GRAP, the various phases of which call for the adoption of different measures as per the AQI, including a complete ban on the construction activities when AQI levels go beyond 450.

On the other hand, cities like Mumbai have been working towards the establishment of plans to tackle concerns over decreasing air quality, wherein their primary target has been dust mitigation.

While such plans have potential positive effects subjective to the manner of their implementation, the need for a nationwide plan to control the rampant increase in the AQI has become dire.

This is stated on account of the various forms and manners in which the construction and infrastructure industry has been contributing to the pollution levels, whether concerning air, water or soil. Another major source of pollution linked to construction activities is C&D waste. Managing this waste effectively is essential to reduce its increasingly harmful impact on the environment.

Government action and the C&D management rules

The construction sector of India has historically lacked dedicated environmental legislation and has been governed mainly by general environment protection legislations of India, including the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Although these enactments are well enforced in certain situations, there is a clear need for dedicated laws which may invoke greater and more streamlined responsibility of the sector towards the environment.

On 9 April 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) accepted this need through the notification of the Environment (Construction & Demolition) Waste Management Rules, 2025 (the ‘2025 Rules’). Providing a holistic approach towards the management of C&D waste, the 2025 Rules offer an innovative outlook through the introduction of definitive provisions, and detailing the roles to be played by relevant stakeholders, including the central and state pollution control boards, waste storage facility operators and the ‘waste producers’ (construction companies) in the overall management of the C&D waste. A few of the provisions introduced through the 2025 Rules include the following.

Responsibilities of waste generators and producers

The 2025 Rules describe a waste generator as the ‘occupier of the project’, having full control over the waste-generating construction or demolition activities. These stakeholders have been made responsible for undertaking steps for the prevention of air pollution, littering of waste, and an avoidance of public nuisance during the collection, segregation and storage of C&D waste.

Waste storage procedures

Rule 17 invokes the liabilities of local authorities for establishing waste storage facilities in certain cases, and to further ensure that the facilities do not cause any form of public nuisance, or pollute the air or water.

Environment compensation

Rule 18 is a remarkable addition, by way of which responsibility has been attributed to the relevant stakeholders for ensuring compliance with the provisions of the 2025 Rules. Failure may lead to the invocation of liability to pay ‘environment compensation’, which may be equal to any loss, damage, or injury caused to nature. It has been further specified that the compensation so collected must only be used for specified purposes, including the collection and recycling of uncollected, legacy, or orphan waste.

The provisions may give a reasonable inference to the fact of the 2025 Rules being a transformative piece of legislation, worthy of being commended for the proposed initiatives towards recycling and efficient management of C&D waste.

Another reflection which may be taken from the 2025 Rules is the potential impact of dedicated laws in bringing about a certain level of accountability of the industry with respect to the baton of environment protection – thus causing the relevant stakeholders to work towards an environmentally sound development of the nation.

Mending fences

In the MK Ranjitsinh case,^[6] the most recent reflection of the Supreme Court’s endeavours to protect individuals from climate change, the Court held the right to be protected from adverse effects of climate change to be a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Considering this landmark, it becomes essential that active measures are adopted for the protection of citizens from the adverse impacts of increasing levels of pollution by adopting different methods, including sustainable or clean construction.

The ‘clean construction’ approach promotes the use of various methods, including the barricading of construction sites with ‘windbreaks’ and vegetation-based mulching of soil, to decrease the overall environmental burden carried by the industry. Many of these methods carry minimal monetary burdens, and reflect efficient manners of tackling the pollution-causing factors associated with construction activities, including the extensive production of dust.

India has not been oblivious to this approach: a practical application of clean construction may be found within the city of Surat, where the World Resources Institute has assisted in the achievement of a significant reduction of construction-related pollution by adopting simple measures like the water sprinkling and covering of stone-cutting areas to achieve dust mitigation.

On a wider level, the approach is also being promoted by the MoEFCC. In September 2024, it established the India Alliance for Clean Construction (IIAC) to serve as a platform for connecting key construction stakeholders to ‘drive clean air-focused practices in construction’. While the alliance is at a nascent stage, the impact of the establishment altogether is extremely positive and paints a picture of a more environmentally sound future for the construction industry.

Working towards a sustainable future

The role of the construction industry in India’s economic goals is unambiguously significant. However, India’s ambition of reducing its carbon footprint and providing better quality of life to its citizens is also prominent and well established. Thus, while the various measures being taken by the government and its functionaries require due credit, there may be a need for such measures to be implemented in an efficient and expedited manner for both of India’s ambitions to align without mutual contradictions.

It may only be after such an alignment that the nation achieves an environmentally sound economic growth, where the citizens are free to live and breathe.