New Delhi, July 24, 2025- In a focused roundtable hosted by ASSOCHAM on “Advancing Clean Air Solutions,” top experts from construction sector and industry leaders gathered to address the critical challenge of air pollution levels in industries and Indian cities-particularly stemming from the construction and urban development sectors.
The event underscored the need for clean construction, adoption of solutions, modern technology, and shared responsibility among public and private stakeholders.
Delivering the Special Address, Dr. S.D. Attri Fulltime Member (Technical), Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM), Government of India framed the conversation in the context of India’s rapid urban expansion and the real estate sector’s growing environmental impact. “Construction is vital, but not at the cost of the environment. We cannot ignore that real estate activity significantly contributes to poor air quality,” he said.
Dr. Attri highlighted that urbanisation is both a challenge and an opportunity, calling for lean development, compliance-driven operations, and adoption of cutting-edge air quality mitigation tools. He emphasized the need to shift from traditional methods to AI-enabled monitoring, sprinkler systems, and high-dispersion particle control. Builders, he added, must be encouraged to invest in global innovations, prioritize cross-sector collaboration, and make air quality management an embedded part of development frameworks.
Setting the tone in his opening remarks, Dr. Anand Rai Vice President & Head – Environment (Steel & Energy), Council for Environment and Climate Change, ASSOCHAM reinforced that air pollution is both an environmental crisis and a public health emergency.
Dr. Rai urged developers to shift towards a leaner, more compliant development model, and called on the industry to lead by example by investing in global solutions. He closed with a strong appeal for cross-sector collaboration to align development with long-term sustainability through common facilities for MSMEs and novel technologies for large scale plants especially with best available technologies (BAT) for steel and manufacturing sectors.
Mr. Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy Program Director – Clean Air Action, Sustainable Cities & Transport, WRI India focused on the role of construction in air pollution and called for comprehensive, long-term solutions to address it.
He advocated for the integration of clean construction protocols, supported by technology and innovation, and emphasized collaboration between sectors. His call to action included the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs), implementation of a site-specific dust mitigation plan, and a self-rating framework for the construction industry to voluntarily assess and improve their environmental performance. He presented the India Alliance for clean air construction with ASSOCHAM as a partner.
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Managing Director, Zetko gave his perspective and discussed the real-world challenges and innovations around dust control. He acknowledged that dust collection remains a challenge, especially in large-scale projects, and highlighted the need to scale industrial technologies across the sector. He stressed the importance of disseminating technical solutions to all stakeholders, ensuring accessibility and practical usage across project types and geographies.
The roundtable concluded with a unified appeal to: adopt innovative practices in mitigating industrial air pollution, Institutionalize clean construction as a national standard; Accelerate adoption of through best available technologies; Promote compliance-driven practices’. Create a culture of collaborative innovation. ASSOCHAM reaffirmed its commitment to enabling handholding, collaboration, capacity building, knowledge exchange and policy alignment between the real estate, industry, government, and sustainability experts.