Delhi Pollution: Govt Announces To Install 10,000 Air Purifiers In Classrooms To Save Children

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood announced a series of long-term Delhi pollution measures on December 19, 2025, including air purifiers in 10,000 classrooms and new rules for construction sites. Sood said these steps aim to protect students and residents from dirty air, while moving away from short-term campaigns and publicity-focused drives on pollution control.

Speaking at a press conference, Sood said the Delhi government preferred structural changes and policy decisions over headline-friendly stunts, according to news agency ANI. The plan forms part of a wider push that ties together school safety, road cleaning systems, landfill management and stricter use of recycled building material across the capital.

Delhi pollution measures in classrooms and schools

Sood said Delhi currently had about 38,000 classrooms in government and government-aided schools, and air purifiers would be rolled out in stages. Official data cited in the briefing showed 1,047 schools fall under these categories. The first phase targets more than a quarter of all classrooms, with tenders already issued to speed up the process.

Explaining the move, Sood said, "We want our children to study smart and breathe smart air. In the first phase, air purifiers will be installed in 10,000 classrooms. Tenders have been floated today,". The minister stressed that students’ health during school hours remained a key concern, especially during high-pollution months in Delhi.

Delhi pollution measures on roads and environment cess

The minister, who also handles the urban development department, said the Public Works Department would use environment cess collections to buy mechanical road sweepers for every assembly constituency. Sood added that similar funds were being given to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for the same purpose, arguing that cleaner roads could help cut dust levels in neighbourhoods.

Sood accused the previous Aam Aadmi Party administration of not supporting the civic body adequately, particularly on sanitation. "MCD is being provided money to procure mechanical road sweepers. The AAP government did nothing for the MCD. Salaries were not released for sanitation workers. They were at the helm in MCD for two years, but what did they do?" Sood said.

Delhi pollution measures versus earlier odd-even schemes

During the interaction, Sood attacked earlier pollution control campaigns run under the Aam Aadmi Party government, including the Odd-Even road rationing plan and the 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ drive. "We are not those who flaunt IIT degrees and do campaigns like Odd-Even or 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign. We are tackling the issue of pollution through long-term administrative measures rather than treating it as a PR exercise," Sood said.

The Odd-Even traffic scheme, rolled out by the then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government in 2016, was used twice that year. Under the rule, cars with odd and even registration numbers were allowed on alternate days. The stated goal was to bring down vehicle emissions and ease congestion on Delhi’s busy roads.

Delhi pollution measures on construction, monitoring and landfills

Sood said that from October 11, 2025, all construction projects in Delhi were required to use recycled construction material. According to the minister, payments for civil works would be stopped if this rule was ignored. The move is intended to cut fresh resource use and reduce dust, which is a major contributor to Delhi’s air pollution levels.

He also outlined the plan for the Bhalswa landfill site, one of Delhi’s large garbage mounds. The target is to finish full remediation by September 2026. A tender has been issued for handling 18 lakh metric tonnes of waste from the site, which has long been flagged for its pollution impact on nearby areas.

Citing a Comptroller and Auditor General report for 2017-18, Sood alleged that 30 per cent of air quality monitoring stations were deliberately placed in greener zones to make pollution levels appear lower. He said this distorted data in the past. According to Sood, weather conditions and farm-related activities in neighbouring states also play a big role in Delhi’s seasonal air quality swings.

The different Delhi pollution measures announced by Sood can be summarised as follows:

Sood argued that air pollution in Delhi stems from years of weak governance rather than one season’s smoke. He accused the previous government of trusting advertisements and data manipulation instead of deeper corrections. "We are committed towards elimination of pollution. I want to assure the people of Delhi that we are taking all possible steps, the results of which will be shown on the ground very soon," Sood said.