CAQM plans new tech gadgets to fight pollution

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas on Thursday said it would tap the technical and academic expertise of reputed scientific institutions to tackle the air pollution problem, while approving seven projects to tackle different aspects and sources of pollution in the region

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas on Thursday said it would tap the technical and academic expertise of reputed scientific institutions to tackle the air pollution problem, while approving seven projects to tackle different aspects and sources of pollution in the region. The projects involve utilising artificial intelligence, drones and developing a Decision Support System (DSS) tool for neighbouring NCR towns, CAQM said.

New Delhi, India - November 10, 2022: A clear sky seen at Kartvya Path/ near India Gate, in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, November 10, 2022. Strong surface winds brought some relief from high pollution levels in Delhi and improved visibility. (Photo by Raj K Raj/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The first project looks at vehicle counting using artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to develop an emissions inventory. This will also help assess traffic density on different roads. “The vehicle counting will be done by uploading footage from CCTV cameras on a cloud platform developed by CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur. This will help prepare the air pollution emission inventory with the help of the vehicle count for urban centres,” said CAQM in a statement on Thursday.

A second project, also awarded to CSIR-NEERI, looks at addressing vehicular traffic-induced road dust re-suspension with the help of Science and Technology (S&T)-based action plans. The third project is an autonomous drone swarm framework, which will allow real-time air quality monitoring and pollution quantification in NCR’s hotspots. The project will be executed by the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in Patiala, Punjab.

“The objective of the project is to develop an AI-based technique for flying drones on a specified trajectory with minimal human intervention for real-time air quality monitoring, specifically of pollutants such as SO2, NO2, PM2.5 and PM10. The data will be useful to extract information about exact pollutant concentration on ground, and the spatial, temporal, altitudinal and seasonal variation of pollutant concentration in a particular area,” CAQM said.

While a Decision Support System (DSS) -- developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM)--is already in place for analysing sources of pollution in Delhi, CAQM has now approved the development of a similar tool for the neighbouring districts of Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Gautam Budh Nagar, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Baghpat, and Rohtak.

The other projects awarded and approved include an ambient air purification system developed by SASTRA University in Thanjavur. This project claims to reduce the Air Quality Index by 25-50% in an area and will be tested in a busy marketplace .

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi’s ‘Under-actuated Filterless Air Cleaner Retrofit for Rolling Stock and Vehicles’ project is also one of the seven projects. According to the submission made to CAQM, the project aims to use filterless air cleaners in Delhi’s buses to reduce emissions.

CAQM has also approved an evaluation project which tests retrofitted two-wheelers and three-wheelers, it said.

“The projects are aimed at developing better capabilities for air quality monitoring and demonstrating field implementable solutions and technologies,” a CAQM official said, adding they will help the commission bolster its fight against air pollution in NCR.

“Specific time limits and budgetary allocations have also been set for each of the projects to be carried out for identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality of NCR,” the official added.

Dipankar Saha, former head of Central Pollution Control board (CPCB)’s air laboratory, meanwhile, said while all these projects could be beneficial in the long run, previous ambient air quality monitoring systems have shown there has been little improvement in the AQI. “The most important project is to assess a vehicles emission inventory and assess the carrying capacity of vehicles on each road. This will help plan several measures for the transport sector, but we need to stop investing in technology that involves outdoor air purification,” he said.

Pratima Singh, a senior research scientist at the Center for Air Pollution Studies at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), however, said a majority of the projects consisted of monitoring devices and did not focus on control of emissions. “Low-hanging fruit such as waste-burning could have been tackled too,” she added.