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With air quality in the Delhi-NCR region frequently deteriorating into the ‘poor’ and ‘severe’ categories, pollution has emerged as a key factor influencing where people choose to live. In response, several real estate developers across the region are positioning their projects as ‘wellness-oriented’ or ‘pollution-resilient,’ promoting features such as urban forests, advanced air-filtration systems, green façades, and landscaped buffers that claim to offer cleaner air and healthier living environments.
The urgency is underscored by current pollution levels. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at a ‘severe’ 454 at 7:05 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app. As per CPCB standards, an AQI of 0–50 is classified as ‘good,’ 51–100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101–200 ‘moderate,’ 201–300 ‘poor,’ 301–400 ‘very poor,’ and 401–500 ‘severe.’
Against this backdrop, the growing emphasis on wellness-driven housing appears timely. Following the pandemic, homebuyers have become increasingly health-conscious, with concerns over respiratory illnesses and prolonged exposure to polluted air shifting from seasonal anxieties to year-round considerations. Developers argue that their design interventions can reduce pollution exposure and create micro-environments that are demonstrably healthier than the surrounding urban landscape.
Urban planners, however, say that ‘true sustainability is systemic,’ encompassing energy efficiency, water management, waste reduction, and long-term resilience. While standalone green features may improve liveability, they cannot address a city’s broader pollution challenge. Improving air quality, they argue, is inseparable from urban planning, as long daily commutes limit the impact of short-term interventions on AQI, making planning and design critical to any lasting solution.
To cite a few examples, Godrej Properties has introduced centralised treated fresh-air systems in its Mathura Road project, which draw in outdoor air and filter out harmful particulate matter. These systems were developed in partnership with a German firm to reduce PM2.5 levels, helping homebuyers ‘Breathe a Little Deeper.’ Meanwhile, Max’s new project on the Dwarka Expressway promises to ‘Let Nature Make Space for You,’ featuring a central forest as its key offering.
Godrej South Estate located on Mathura Road offers 2/3/4 BHK fully-furnished apartments starting at ₹2.4 crore. The project offers indoor Centrally Treated Fresh Air (CTFA) technology integrated with VRF AC systems (Variable Refrigerant Flow AC systems which are an advanced, large-scale HVAC technology that uses a single outdoor unit to control multiple indoor units, allowing for simultaneous heating and cooling in different zones with high energy efficiency by precisely adjusting refrigerant flow to each area), filtering particles while reducing VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and CO2.
The company has also introduced outdoor Mechanical Filterless Fresh Air (MFFA) systems with multi-stage filtration to control PM2.5 and other pollutants around key landscape areas, such as children’s play zones, said Geetika Trehan, CEO of North Zone, Godrej Properties, told Hindustan Times Real Estate.
Godrej Air, a premium residential project by Godrej Properties in Sector 85, Gurugram, offers Centrally Treated Fresh Air (CTFA) technology with dedicated air purification units in every apartment. These units continuously draw in, filter, and treat fresh air to significantly reduce particulate matter, such as PM2.5 and PM10, ensuring healthier indoor air quality for residents, she said.
Godrej Nature Plus located in Sector 33, Sohna, features an advanced air purification system called CTMA3 (Centrally Treated Multistage Advanced Active Air Purification) technology, an enhanced version of CTFA. Alongside eMective particulate filtration, CTMA3 integrates UV-based advanced oxidation technology to reduce airborne germs and enhance overall air hygiene, she explained.
Max Estates has launched Estate 361 in Gurugram’s Sector 36A. Centred around the LiveWell philosophy, the project promises to offer a forest ecosystem. The residential community offers a ‘forest in your backyard’ with over 2,50,000 sq. ft. of forest greens home to 1,000+ indigenous trees and over 50 species of flora carefully selected to thrive in Gurugram’s climate, the company said in a statement.
Sahil Vachani, vice chairman and Managing Director, Max Estates, said, “Estate 361 reflects our belief that wellbeing begins with nature, the heart of our LiveWell philosophy. Time and again, we’ve seen that people live and connect better when they’re closer to nature. With Estate 361, we didn’t want to simply add a forest around the development; we began with the forest itself. Everything else grew naturally from there, like a seed taking root and shaping a vibrant community. Our intention was not just to keep nature around the homes, but to create a place that truly feels part of a living, thriving forest.”
Here’s what experts have to say about environmentally friendly features
Experts say features such as Miyawaki forests, a dense, fast-growing plantation of native tree species designed to mimic natural forests within large residential developments, can make a difference. However, Pravinjith KP, a civil engineer and managing director at Bengaluru-based environmental consultancy Ecoparadigm, said their impact depends largely on intent and long-term execution.
“Miyawaki plantations do offer advantages, especially by creating dense foliage that can reduce the entry of certain pollutant particles into residential areas,” he said, while cautioning that they are not a natural form of green cover and come with ecological limitations.
He said that such forests require carefully selected plant species and sustained maintenance to remain effective. “These systems are not a one-time installation. They need continuous upkeep through the entire project life cycle to deliver meaningful air-quality benefits,” Pravinjith said, noting that without long-term care, the environmental gains can quickly diminish.
On what homebuyers should evaluate, Pravinjith observed that most buyers still compare projects primarily on price per square foot, with some paying attention to visible green features such as solar panels or water conservation systems. “What is often missing is a comparison of actual outcomes,” he said. “Buyers should be asking how much water is truly being saved or how much pollution is being reduced, not just whether a green feature exists.”
There is also the issue of maintenance. Air-filtration systems that are not regularly serviced, or green features that deteriorate over time due to water shortages or inadequate maintenance, can quickly lose their effectiveness. Buyers often have little visibility into long-term operational costs, which are eventually passed on through higher maintenance charges, say experts.
Wellness as a selling tool
A few industry observers say ‘wellness’ has increasingly become a marketing differentiator rather than a rigorously defined standard.
“True sustainability is systemic,” says one urban planner. “It involves energy efficiency, water management, waste reduction, and long-term resilience. Isolated green features may improve liveability, but they do not solve a city’s pollution crisis.”
“You cannot fix air quality without fixing the way cities are planned. Our urban systems are designed around long commutes and chronic congestion. As long as people are forced to travel long distances every day, short-term measures will have a limited impact on AQI. This is where planning and design become critical,” points out Dikshu C Kukreja, architect and urban planner.
This thinking directly informs projects such as the East Delhi Hub, envisioned as the country’s first Transit-Oriented Development. By bringing homes, workplaces, public amenities and mass transit into close proximity, the project reduces the need for long daily commutes and encourages public transport as the default choice. When distances shrink and mobility becomes more efficient, emissions reduce at scale. In that sense, mobility planning itself becomes air-quality planning, he explains.
“At the construction level, we follow strict dust-control protocols. Projects such as Thal Sena Bhawan utilise dust suppression systems, covered material handling, wheel washing, and continuous site monitoring to minimise particulate matter. Across our sites, we emphasise phased construction, efficient logistics and the use of cleaner, better-maintained equipment,” he said.
“Ultimately, cleaner air will come from better city systems, not isolated fixes, and architects have a responsibility to design those systems thoughtfully,” he added.
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