CAQM expands PTZ Camera-based Remote Monitoring to all Industries covered under Direction No. 98 in NCR

CAQM has broadened remote monitoring across NCR. Its new Order requires PTZ cameras for all industries covered by Statutory Direction No. 98. This replaces the Commission’s earlier Order dated 5 October 2026. The change aims to give regulators better visibility of fuel use, industrial emissions and pollution-control compliance.

The requirement covers camera installation at fuel-feeding points, gas meters, stack-emission and OCEMS locations, and applicable fume-extraction areas. Cameras must send continuous live video through RTSP to designated CPCB and SPCB or DPCC servers and portals. Units must also provide power backup and maintain the systems.

Every covered industrial unit must install and operationalize the cameras, including real-time transmission arrangements, by 30 November 2026. CPCB must arrange the receiving infrastructure, while SPCBs and DPCC monitor implementation. State governments and the GNCTD must support enforcement in their jurisdictions.

A Pan-Tilt-Zoom, or PTZ, camera is a remotely controllable camera that can turn horizontally, move vertically and magnify distant details. The article does not provide a technical definition, but it requires these cameras because industrial operations need coverage across several locations. Remote control and zoom can help regulators view relevant equipment without being physically present.

For example, a camera may cover a boiler’s fuel-feeding point, a gas meter or a stack-emission sampling location. Units must position cameras to provide adequate visibility and avoid significant blind spots. If one camera cannot cover the required areas, additional cameras are needed.

The cameras must transmit continuous video through RTSP to CPCB and the relevant SPCB or DPCC systems. They must remain functional, provide clear images, work during applicable night operations and have power backup. All required systems must be operational by 30 November 2026.

CAQM’s requirement is broad. It applies to all 17 categories of highly polluting industries identified by CPCB. It also covers Red Category medium and large air-polluting industries operating in NCR. The Order therefore extends beyond a small group of facilities.

The named coverage also includes Food and Food Processing industries and Textile industries that have boilers or thermic fluid heaters. Metal industries with furnaces are included as well. These units must install cameras at applicable operating and pollution-monitoring locations. The article describes these as categories operating in NCR.

The Order’s practical scale is the combination of the 17 CPCB categories with the additional Red Category, food-processing, textile and metal groups. It supersedes the 5 October 2026 Order and gives all covered units until 30 November 2026 to install and operationalize cameras and live transmission.

CAQM requires cameras to observe the places most relevant to industrial fuel use and pollution control. These include fuel-feeding or charging points for boilers, thermic fluid heaters, furnaces, kilns and other fuel-fired equipment. The aim is to make operating conditions and fuel use visible to regulators.

In gaseous-fuel units, cameras must capture gas meters, gauges and associated metering arrangements. Other cameras must monitor stack emissions and OCEMS sampling or port-hole locations. Where applicable, cameras must also cover fume-extraction system areas. Their number, position and field of view must provide effective coverage without major blind spots.

A single camera is not automatically enough. If it cannot adequately cover the prescribed locations, the unit must install additional cameras. Images must remain clear, including during applicable night operations, and feeds must be transmitted continuously to designated regulatory servers or portals.

Continuous video transmission can make enforcement more immediate and evidence-based. Regulators can remotely view fuel-feeding, gas metering, stack-monitoring and fume-extraction areas while operations are running. This matters because the Order specifically targets fuel usage, industrial emissions and compliance with prescribed pollution-control measures.

For example, CPCB or a State Pollution Control Board could access a unit’s live feed through the designated server or portal. The RTSP connection is intended to provide continuous transmission, while adequate image clarity helps officials see relevant operations. Cameras must also work at night where applicable, with uninterrupted power and backup.

The system does not replace the compliance duties of industrial units. They must maintain cameras and connectivity and promptly report prolonged disruption or malfunction, including corrective action. CPCB must provide receiving infrastructure, while SPCBs and DPCC monitor compliance and implementation.

The industrial units themselves carry the main operational responsibility. They must install the required PTZ cameras, provide real-time connectivity, maintain adequate image quality and supply uninterrupted power, including backup. They must also restore malfunctioning systems promptly and report prolonged disruptions to the concerned SPCB or DPCC.

CPCB is responsible for coordinating the technical arrangements needed to receive and access live video. This includes designated portals, servers and associated infrastructure. The respective State Pollution Control Boards and DPCC are responsible for monitoring compliance and ensuring effective implementation in their jurisdictions.

The governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, together with the GNCTD, CPCB and concerned SPCBs or DPCC, must ensure the Order is implemented. The deadline for each covered industrial unit is 30 November 2026. The article assigns no individual person responsibility and names no specific officials.

Stack emissions are pollutants released through a chimney, duct or other defined outlet. Fugitive emissions escape from equipment, storage, handling or building openings rather than one controlled stack. Secondary particulate matter is not emitted directly as particles; it forms in the atmosphere when gases undergo chemical reactions. These concepts are not explained in the article, which focuses on camera monitoring.

For example, smoke leaving an industrial stack is a stack emission. A leak around a valve may create a fugitive emission. Gases such as sulfur or nitrogen compounds can react in air and contribute to secondary particles. The Order requires cameras at stack-emission and OCEMS sampling or port-hole locations, plus fume-extraction areas where applicable.

NCR winters can make pollution especially harmful because colder, calmer air can limit vertical mixing and trap pollutants near the ground. Winter conditions can also support atmospheric reactions that form secondary particles. These seasonal effects are established science, not details provided in the article, which does not specifically discuss winter pollution.