CSIR-CRRI Signs MoA with Government of Haryana for Implementation of CAQM Framework on Urban Road Dust Mitigation

📌 Summary:

• CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) signed an MoA with the Government of Haryana to implement CAQM's Standard Framework for Paving and Greening of Urban Roads
• Aim: mitigate road-dust pollution (a major source of particulate pollution in the NCR) and build sustainable urban road infrastructure; jointly executed with the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, under CAQM guidance
• Road dust is identified as a major contributor to particulate (PM) air pollution in the National Capital Region
• Four work packages: (1) space standards & road cross-sections; (2) dust mitigation via greening within the right-of-way; (3) better road maintenance through a Road Asset Management System (RAMS); (4) innovative road construction/maintenance technologies
• The MoA operationalises CAQM's guidance document (based on CSIR-CRRI recommendations); Haryana's Urban Local Bodies Department to implement

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 environment — air-pollution control, EIA, sustainable urban infrastructure; a model of research-institution–state–regulator coordination.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• CAQM = Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (statutory body under the CAQM Act, 2021)
• CSIR-CRRI = Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi (a CSIR laboratory)
• Road dust is a key source of particulate matter (PM10/PM2.5) in the NCR

🔑 Key Term: Road Asset Management System (RAMS) — a systematic, data-driven approach to maintaining road infrastructure to extend its life and reduce dust and pollution.