Access to green spaces and cleaner air is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. But in Delhi, does the guarantee of this right depend on where you live?
While areas like New Delhi and South Delhi enjoy cleaner air partially due to abundant and well-planned green spaces, densely populated and under-resourced parts of North, North West, and East Delhi struggle with dangerously high pollution levels and minimal access to greenery.
Take Bawana, an industrial hub in North Delhi: it recorded PM2.5 levels of 172µg/m³ on April 11 – nearly three times the safe limit. In 2023, it had just five “good air” days. Only about 4 percent of Bawana’s land is under forest cover as per the Forest Survey of India, and per capita green space stands at just 11 m², according to the 2020 baseline study for Delhi’s Master Plan 2041. Nearby Narela isn’t faring any better – it clocked only four good air days last year and also suffers from poor green coverage.
In North East Delhi, the picture is grimmer. Park space per person is a dismal 3.05 m², far below the WHO's recommended minimum of 9 m² – let alone the ideal 50 m². Sonia Vihar had just one good air day in 2023, with per capita green space at 4.1 m² and park access as low as 0.51 m², the worst in the city.
Contrast this with New Delhi – the meticulously planned Lutyens' zone – where forest cover exceeds 30 percent. Residents here enjoy a staggering 138.18 m² of park space and 137.42 m² of total green cover per person. On April 11, the Pusa monitoring station recorded PM2.5 levels at 61 µg/m³ – right on the threshold – and air quality monitors in the area average over 64 good air days annually. Clean air here is not accidental; it’s by design.
South Delhi, with the highest forest cover in the city at over 44 percent, offers nearly 39 m² of green space per person and about 8.82 m² of park area. Though its average of 11 good air days is modest, it far outperforms much of the city’s north.
“Wealthier and more politically powerful areas, such as New Delhi and South Delhi, have historically benefited from better urban planning and resources allocated towards creating and maintaining green spaces,” said an urban planning expert, who wished to remain anonymous.
Environmentalist Swami Prem Parivartan, better known as Peepal Baba, said the challenge in creating more green cover in the northern parts of Delhi is encroachment.
“In encroached areas, it is challenging for the authorities to create green spaces. Because as soon as an open space is created with some vegetation, someone encroaches upon it,” he said.
Other districts with a poor profile
North West Delhi is home to four of Delhi’s official pollution hotspots – Rohini, Jahangirpuri, Wazirpur, and Ashok Vihar. Together, these places saw only an average of three good air days in 2023, with Wazirpur not seeing even one. With a moderately high total green cover compared to a few other districts, the green space per person is 15.40 m², while only 3.7 percent of the district’s land is under forest cover. Park access is at 1.72 m² per person.
West Delhi has its specific challenges. Mundka recorded five good air days in 2023, while Punjabi Bagh had just one. The forest cover is around 6.6 percent, but it has only 3.25 m² of parks per person, and the per capita green space stands at 7.1 m² – not the worst, but far from ideal.
Meanwhile, South West Delhi has a similar poor green profile – only 4.47 percent forest cover and 2.45 m² of park space. Dwarka and RK Puram recorded eight and three good air days, respectively.
In East Delhi, Anand Vihar is known as one of the most polluted areas in the city. Its forest cover is about 6 percent, but the per capita green cover at 5.45 m² is low, and with 8.23 km² of park area, each person gets 4.81 m² of park area. Unsurprisingly, the area didn’t record even one good air quality day in 2023.
In South East Delhi, home to Okhla, one of the pollution hotspots, forest cover is higher at 19.35 percent, but per capita park data is lacking. Even so, only four good air days were recorded in 2023, suggesting that total cover isn’t enough – distribution and accessibility matter too. Finally, Shahdara, where Vivek Vihar lies, has the lowest forest cover in Delhi at just 2.65 percent. Unsurprisingly, it recorded only two good air days in 2023.
Paras Tyagi, of CYCLE (an NGO working to improve public policy in Delhi), highlights the behavioural side of this gap. “They will burn waste; they don’t care about the environment because they don’t have an environment around them,” he says. “Neighbourhoods with less greenery tend to have residents who are less environmentally conscious.”
The other factors that influence the AQI
Environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari pointed to various factors that influenced air pollution in the 13 hotspots. While vehicular emissions and construction dust are common threads, the presence of landfills, industrial zones, and unauthorised waste burning contribute uniquely to the pollution profile of each hotspot.
In Anand Vihar, pollution is largely driven by traffic congestion near the Inter-State Bus Terminal, ongoing construction work like the Regional Rapid Transit System station, and dust accumulation on roads. Mundka faces similar issues, with construction for the Urban Extension Road-II, emissions from its industrial area, and dust from the Delhi Metro casting yard, she said.
Wazirpur’s industrial units contribute significantly through metal processing emissions and unauthorised waste burning while in Jahangirpuri, biomass burning, the nearby Bhalswa landfill, and road traffic are major culprits, Khandari said. RK Puram and Rohini suffer from high vehicular density and traffic jams, while Punjabi Bagh experiences pollution from vehicle emissions, dust, and construction. Okhla, a heavily industrialised area, grapples with pollution from factories, waste burning, the landfill, traffic, and a waste-to-energy plant.
In Bawana, the ongoing UER-II construction, traffic congestion, landfill emissions, and a hazardous waste treatment facility contribute to poor air quality, she said. Vivek Vihar is affected by vehicle emissions, construction dust, and industrial activity in the vicinity. Narela, being an industrial hub, deals with emissions from factories, vehicular pollution, and road dust. Ashok Vihar’s issues stem from traffic congestion, active construction, and unpaved roads. Lastly, Dwarka, though largely residential, faces increasing pollution from vehicular traffic and construction dust.
Greening initiatives mitigate global warming
In the 2022 book Urban Green Spaces, authors Akanksha Sangwan, Anjali Saraswat, Nand Kumar, Satish Pipralia, and Ashwani Kumar highlight that greening initiatives can absorb pollutants, improve soil and water quality, and help mitigate urban heat islands. The methodology included a review of secondary data from government reports, literature, and field observations.
Manoj Kumar, a researcher at CREA, noted, “Trees next to roads can directly capture vehicular emissions. The particulate matter settles on leaves, and gases are absorbed.” But, he cautions, this is a long-term strategy, not a quick fix.
But it’s not just about planting anything, anywhere.
“There is a relationship between green space and helping mitigate air pollution. But it is important to note what kind of trees are being planted. In places like Vasant Kunj, for instance, they’ve planted palm trees, which are not native to Delhi. Just because they’re green doesn’t mean they’re effective,” said Arvaan Kumar, co-author of a meta-analysis published in 2022 in the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Arvaan’s study applied the PRISMA method (a systematic 27-point review framework) to confirm that urban greenery reduces PM levels and that tree species’ effectiveness varies by canopy size, height, and leaf structure.
Delhi’s own Green Action Plan identifies species like neem, jamun, gulmohur, and kachnar as powerful allies in fighting pollution. But urban greenery isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution – it has to be native, climate-suitable, and part of long-term city planning.
Experts say this won’t happen overnight. Greening Delhi is a long-term commitment, and for it to work, the focus must remain on quality as much as quantity. Where green space is thoughtfully planned and protected, pollution falls. Where it isn’t, the air gets harder to breathe.
“Trees and parks aren’t luxuries. They’re infrastructure for survival,” said Swami Prem Parivartan.
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