Gurugram, Oct. 21 -- Every morning, Sumit Tayal, 38, a resident of Ballabgarh in Haryana, takes a state roadways bus to reach Sadar Bazar, the old shopping district in Gurugram. Tayal has been working at a garment store in the market for more than a decade. Over the years, as traffic on the roads multiplied, it took Tayal more and more time to cover the 45-km distance between Ballabgarh and Gurugram. These days, it takes him about two and a half hours each way, or five hours of commute-daily.

Tayal makes this journey every day of the week, including on weekends. But the most distressing part of the ride is the air he is forced to breathe and the unmeasured quantities of dust he inhales.

"The roads are very dusty and trucks carrying cons...