Nagpur’s Construction Boom Turns Dusty: Rules Ignored, Health at Risk

thenewsdirt
Oct 20
9 min read

The largest city in the Vidarbha region is undergoing a rapid infrastructure boom and with it, an escalating dust problem that blankets whole neighbourhoods. From new flyovers and high-rises to road widening projects, construction work is kicking up clouds of particulate matter across the city.

Trees lining the streets have turned grey under layers of dust, and even nearby homes and shops are coated in it. Residents and commuters say that what was once Orange City’s clear skyline now often lies under a haze, as Nagpur’s rush to develop comes at a visible cost to its environment and public health.

Despite rules and guidelines meant to curb dust pollution at construction sites, enforcement on the ground remains patchy, leaving citizens to grapple with the fallout of unchecked urban growth.

Construction Boom Drives a Dust Surge

Nagpur is in the midst of an unprecedented construction spree. Multiple large-scale projects, including flyovers, bridges, new roads, multi-storey markets, and hospitals, are simultaneously underway across the city.

These works are being executed by agencies ranging from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur Improvement Trust to the Public Works Department, National Highways Authority, and the MahaMetro rail authority.

Private builders have also joined in, meaning virtually every part of Nagpur is seeing some form of development.

Construction is particularly widespread in areas like North and South Nagpur, along major thoroughfares such as Nag Road, and in fast-growing localities like Dighori and Pardi. Together, these activities have made airborne dust a common issue citywide.

For many residents, the signs of this dust surge are everywhere. “Every major road or area across the city is witnessing some infrastructure work... which leads to an increase in dust particles,” observed Rahul Shahu, a marketing professional, adding that the polluted air affects the health of motorists on these routes.

Indeed, major infrastructure works have left roadside trees and plants covered in thick dust deposits. In market areas, sand and gravel spilling from trucks have formed a fine film on nearby buildings and stalls.

What was meant to be a welcome drive of development has also become a daily irritant. “It feels like we are living inside a construction site,” one Nagpur resident remarked, describing constant layers of grime and disruption.

Environmental data confirms that it’s a serious pollution concern. A study by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in 2019 found that construction dust was the single biggest contributor to Nagpur’s PM₁₀ particulate pollution.

Coarse particles (PM₁₀) are largely generated by activities like digging, concrete mixing, and vehicle movement on unpaved surfaces. As construction ramped up, so did these pollution levels. In early 2025, the city’s daily air quality exceeded safe particulate limits on 69 out of 89 days, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Average PM₁₀ concentrations in Nagpur during February, March and April were consistently around 120 µg/m³, far above the national safe standard of 100 µg/m³.

Such readings place Nagpur among the most polluted in Maharashtra during that period, second only to the industrial city of Malegaon.

Experts point squarely to rampant construction activity and heavy traffic as the primary drivers of this spike in dust pollution. In other words, the very development fuelling Vidarbha’s economic ambitions is also fouling its air.

Health professionals in the city have noted a rise in respiratory complaints, from persistent coughs to aggravated asthma, which they link to the constant inhalation of dust-laden air.

Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable, as fine particles can inflame lungs and even enter the bloodstream over time.

Rules in Place to Contain Construction Dust

The dust problem is not a discovery, and neither are the solutions. There is a comprehensive framework of regulations intended to keep construction sites from polluting the surrounding environment. National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and Environment Ministry guidelines have, for years, mandated basic precautions during building activity.

As far back as 2015, the NGT directed that all construction sites be wrapped in protective sheets or tarpaulins to prevent dust escaping.

Builders were instructed to install wind-breaking barriers, cover any scaffolding, and even put up green netting around the project perimeters.

In 2016, the central government introduced the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, which legally require developers to manage debris responsibly, including on-site segregation of waste and covering all trucks transporting soil or rubble. Subsequent guidelines by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have reinforced these measures.

For instance, a 2017 dust mitigation directive calls for regular water sprinkling at active sites, wheel-washing facilities at exits, and continuous monitoring of particulate levels on large projects. In short, the playbook to control construction dust is well established: shield the site, wet the dust, cover the trucks, and properly dispose of the waste.

At the local level, too, authorities have laid down clear rules. In November 2023, facing rising pollution, Nagpur’s civic body issued fresh dust control guidelines to all construction agencies. These guidelines mirror many of the national norms.

They require construction sites to be enclosed with iron sheet barricades so that winds do not carry dust off-site. “Spray water and cover debris” was the mantra announced by then Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Chaudhari as he launched the initiative. Under NMC’s orders, any earth or demolition debris piled up at a site must be kept damp and fully covered with sheets. Even during transportation, construction materials and waste should be wrapped under tarpaulins so that nothing spills onto the roads.

Ready-mix concrete (RMC) and other fine materials now have to be moved in covered containers as well. The directives also extended to related pollution sources, banning the burning of garbage in the open, and pushing municipal bus operators to keep their vehicles’ emissions in check. These measures were part of a broader effort to improve Nagpur’s air quality ahead of winter, when smog tends to worsen.

Notably, projects exceeding ₹50 crore in value are already required to obtain a clearance from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board before work begins.

However, those clearances mainly focus on obvious pollutants, like on-site asphalt plants. Local officials admit that specific dust mitigation steps were not explicitly written into past project tenders, meaning contractors often treated them as optional.

The hope was that the new NMC guidelines would fill this gap by making anti-dust practices mandatory across the board.

Widespread Non-Compliance on the Ground

In practice, however, many of these rules are being observed only in the breach. At construction sites large and small around Nagpur, one finds frequent violations of the prescribed safeguards.

Builders often fail to erect proper barricading, leaving bare earth and construction pits exposed to the open air. It is common to see mounds of excavated soil and broken concrete dumped by roadsides without any cover, precisely what the guidelines forbid.

Water sprinkling, which should be a routine task, especially in dry weather, is inconsistently carried out at best. “Construction sites often lack proper dust control measures, such as covering debris or using water sprays,” noted one analysis of Nagpur’s air quality, describing unregulated plumes of dust blowing into the surroundings.

Similarly, trucks ferrying sand or debris are regularly spotted shedding part of their loads in transit, trailing dust along city roads. This kind of laxity turns a single site’s lapse into a city-wide problem, as wind and traffic spread the pollution far beyond the project’s footprint.

Residents living near ongoing projects say they have rarely seen strict enforcement of the rules. Complaints to authorities sometimes result in a warning to the offending contractor, but tangible penalties are rare. “Every time we file a complaint with NMC, they warn the contractor, but the work continues,” recounted one frustrated resident of Narendra Nagar, a neighbourhood plagued by round-the-clock construction.

Eventually, municipal officials told him to bear with it for some time, essentially asking citizens to live with the dust and noise in the name of development. Others echo that the police and civic teams largely turn a blind eye unless a project is flagrantly violating norms or working beyond permitted hours. The result is that rules meant to protect ordinary people are frequently flouted with impunity.

A senior engineer in the state government acknowledged that while environmental clearance processes exist, day-to-day oversight is lacking, explaining that “there is no mention of measures like installing sheets to stop the dust” in many project contracts. Even some government-run projects in Vidarbha’s premier city have been guilty of this omission, proceeding without adequate dust barriers until public complaints mount.

The impact of this non-compliance is directly felt in Nagpur’s air quality metrics and in the experiences of its people. By April 2025, the city’s PM₁₀ levels had actually risen compared to the previous two years, indicating that mitigation efforts were not keeping pace with the boom.

Many Nagpurians report needing to clean their homes more often due to the fine dust that creeps in daily.

For those with asthma or bronchitis, stepping outdoors on a bad day can trigger coughing or breathing difficulties. Paediatricians in the city have warned parents that children are inhaling higher amounts of particulate matter during their commute to school or playtime outdoors, which could affect lung development.

Yet, construction continues unabated on all sides. “Builders hardly take steps to keep the noise and air pollution under check,” noted an earlier report on Nagpur’s real estate sector, observing that even basic legal requirements were being ignored at most sites.

The pattern of lax enforcement isn’t unique to Nagpur, but across the country, regulations on paper often fail to translate into action on the ground. However, citizens here are growing increasingly vocal that this must change.

Mounting Pressure for Dust Control

With pollution indicators worsening and public patience wearing thin, the issue of construction dust has moved to the forefront of civic discourse in Nagpur.

Clean air advocates and ordinary residents alike are now demanding stricter oversight to ensure that development doesn’t come at the expense of health. “We all want clean air in the city, and we urge officials to engage with us more actively so that we can work more collaboratively,” says Leena Buddhe of the Centre for Sustainable Development, a local environmental group.

Her appeal reflects a broader push for the administration to partner with civil society in tackling pollution, from stopping the open burning of waste to enforcing dust control at work sites.

Nagpur is one of several Maharashtra cities under India’s National Clean Air Programme, which means it is eligible for funds and expert support to reduce particulate levels. Yet, progress has been slow.

The NMC’s own data shows that less than 75% of allocated clean-air funds were utilised, and citizens often complain that their reports of violations go unanswered. This has prompted criticism of the local government’s approach as lackadaisical, even as the city’s pollution rank improved modestly in recent national surveys.

There are signs, however, that authorities are beginning to heed the wake-up call. In late 2025, Nagpur’s civic chief publicly acknowledged that pollution from construction sites is a serious concern and pledged to curb it.

The municipality has since procured more mechanical road sweepers and deployed additional water sprinkler tankers to settle road dust around ongoing projects. Plans are also underway to black-top dusty road shoulders and set up real-time air quality monitoring displays at major construction zones.

These steps mirror measures taken in other metros and even some smaller Vidarbha cities, notably Amravati, which recently earned top marks in a clean air ranking after aggressively controlling dust and vehicular emissions. The hope in Nagpur is that such initiatives, combined with stricter enforcement of existing rules, will finally bring visible relief.

As one environmental analyst put it, the current relatively dry months offer “a window of opportunity for Nagpur to implement regulations before the critical winter season sets in”, when pollution typically worsens. In other words, acting now could prevent an even heavier smog from descending on the city later in the year.

For the countless Nagpurians who live and work amid the din of construction, these developments cannot come soon enough. Each evening, many find their balconies and cars covered in fine dust, a daily reminder of the hidden cost of the city’s growth.

Doctors warn that without immediate corrective measures, cases of dust-linked allergies and respiratory illnesses will continue to climb. Yet amid the frustration, there is also a growing consensus that development and clean air need not be mutually exclusive. Nagpur’s trajectory is being closely watched as a test case for Vidarbha’s urban future, a balance between infrastructure progress and environmental responsibility.

The coming months will reveal whether the city’s leaders and builders can finally follow through on the promises of dust control. The stakes are high.

If Nagpur can enforce its dust mitigation rules effectively, it could reclaim its blue skies and healthier air. If not, the city’s residents may continue to pay the price for development with each difficult breath.