Weekly Environmental News Roundup: 16 February 2026
Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for Week 6 (9 to 15 February) 2026.
Pollution needs year-round action, says CM as Delhi gets six new air monitoring stations
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday said pollution control requires sustained, year-round action, inaugurating six new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System stations to expand real-time tracking of air quality across the capital.
Delhi feels like a gas chamber, UP enjoys clean environment: Yogi’s take on AQI
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday likened the air quality of the national capital to a gas chamber, and asserted that people in Uttar Pradesh enjoy a clean environment and are not being suffocated despite all the developmental work.
After the Commission for Air Quality Management on Sunday made available the State Action Plan 2026 for the National Capital Region, Noida’s action plan seems to have fallen short of outlining key measurable pollution targets.
Debris and road dust drive PM10 pollution level in Delhi-NCR, experts tell MCG
During a one-day training session on construction and demolition waste management, experts told MCG officials that dust from roads, soil and construction activities accounted for 42% of PM10 pollution in the Delhi -NCR, making C&D waste a major, but often overlooked, source of air pollution.
Delhi government announces ₹403 crore plan to upgrade sewage treatment plants and revive Yamuna
Delhi Government is all set to rejuvenate Yamuna river by strengthening Sewage Treatment Plants in Delhi with ₹403 crore investment to enhance capacity and meet targets set by Centre in Mission to clean Yamuna.
Yamuna Froths Again in Delhi: Untreated Waste, River Pollution and the Ground Reality | In Pics
Toxic foam has returned to the Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj as untreated sewage, halted freshwater releases, and stagnant barrages worsen Delhi’s river pollution, exposing gaps between official water quality claims and reality.
Sarojini Nagar: NDMC holds plantation drive
Reinforcing its push for community-driven environmental stewardship, the New Delhi Municipal Council on Sunday organised a plantation drive at GPRA Type-2 Quarters, Sarojini Nagar, under the nationwide “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign.
Concerns raised over greenery damage on Yamuna floodplains
Environmentalists, including a former Secretary at the Centre, have written to the Union Environment Ministry over damage to greenery near the Yamuna floodplains at ITO ghat in central Delhi due to debris and rock dumping, reportedly for a riverfront project.
‘Illegal’ felling of trees: NGT asks officer to take action
NGT has asked a tree officer concerned to take expeditious action in a matter related to the “illegal” felling of trees in Samalka village in southwest Delhi.
The silence of Damdami Mai: How the campus ritual ended
If you grew up in Delhi and went to college anywhere near North Campus, you didn’t accidentally discover the Virgin Tree at Hindu College. You inherited it.
Forest villain’ makes visitors take a thoughtful pause at Sunder Nursery
Long before it became a villain in India’s forests, the plant arrived quietly — brought in during colonial times for shade and soil cover, with little idea of the damage it would later cause.
From Sunder Nagri to Defence Colony, thousands of tonnes of waste remain unsegregated and exposed. Here is why the MCD’s plan to make the capital ‘dhalao-free’ is missing its mark.
MCD clears Rs 17,583 crore Budget for 2026–27, sanitation gets top billing
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Friday cleared a budget of Rs 17,583 crore for 2026–27, placing sanitation and waste management at the centre of its spending blueprint.
MCD to enforce 15-point action plan for implementing new SWM rules
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has proposed a 15-point action plan that includes reviving zero-waste colonies and enforcing four-way segregation as part of its plan to implement the newly notified Solid Waste Management rules.
CPCB flags minor lapses at 3 Delhi waste-to-energy plants in affidavit
The Central Pollution Control Board has told the National Green Tribunal that all four of Delhi’s waste-to-energy plants hold valid consent to operate, though minor non-compliances persist at three of the facilities, according to an affidavit filed before the tribunal on February 9.
Mismanaged waste collection point in Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar: NGT asks MCD to take remedial action
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi commissioner to take remedial action regarding the mismanagement of a ‘dhalao’ (waste collection point) here within two months.
The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association has issued a clarification after a video went viral of a vendor seemingly refilling cold-drink bottles from used cups, stating that it was being done as part of a waste management procedure.
Forest land double the size of Delhi under encroachment in Assam: CM Sarma
About 2,676 sq km of forest land, nearly twice the geographical area of Delhi, is currently under encroachment in Assam, said chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday.
A delegation from the Karnataka Growers’ Federation met with Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav in Delhi on Monday and urged him to take concrete measures to put an end to the human-elephant conflict in the Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and Kodagu districts.
