The city of Gurugram experienced its first ‘good air’ day of 2022 at the end of July, following light monsoon showers. In fact, the monsoon months are the only period when the people in the area can enjoy the sight of blue skies, as they suffer from poor air quality caused by the presence of dust and other pollutants the rest of the year.

To combat this challenge, the city authorities and ICLEI South Asia have joined efforts under the Building City Leadership on Clean Air Action project, supported by the Clean Air Fund, to design strategies for reducing air pollution in the region. On July 23, 2022, officials of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Haryana Forest Department, and Municipal Corporation Gurugram held a consultation meeting with the project team in Gurugram to discuss the team’s plans to provide technical assistance for enhancing green cover. The project team shared their ideas for enhancing green cover, site, and species selection methods, air quality tolerance index maintenance, carbon sequestration, etc.

At the meeting, the Addl. CEO, GMDA (urban environment division), sought assistance in developing a tree cover map for the GMDA area. Additionally, he expressed his interest in the following:

• provide support to reach out to CSRs for securing funds to implement the city’s planned project.
• assist in reporting for a proposed air quality monitoring project.