Delhi minister Rai reviews efficacy of smog tower

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that the average performance of the smog tower installed in Connaught Place in August last year is about 70%-80% within a distance of 50 metres and drops to 15-20% at a distance of 300 metres

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that the average performance of the smog tower installed in Connaught Place in August last year is about 70%-80% within a distance of 50 metres and drops to 15-20% at a distance of 300 metres.

New Delhi, India - Oct. 14, 2022: Environment Minister of Delhi, Gopal Rai visited the smog tower on Baba Kharak Singh Marg near Connaught Place in New Delhi, India, on Friday, October 14, 2022. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The minister, who inspected the smog tower on Friday, said experts from Delhi Pollution Control Committee, IIT Bombay and Delhi had conducted a study on the efficacy of the tower for the past one year, both during winter and summer. He added that the experts have submitted their report to the government.

Rai said the experts will continue the study for one more year. “They have submitted their report for the first year. The researchers will submit a final report on the completion of two years, which will also suggest changes, if needed, to optimise the efficacy of the tower. The tower at Connaught Place was installed at a cost of Rs. 20 crore. Our teams are now working to bring down the cost for more towers that may be installed in the city,” he added.

However, experts have argued that smog towers are not a long-term solution to Delhi’s air pollution problem, and that not only would people have to remain extremely close to the smog tower to breathe clean air, but thousands of such smog towers would have to be installed all across the city to bring about a change in air quality.

The first smog tower was installed in Delhi in the busy Lajpat Nagar market by Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) Member of Parliament, Gautam Gambhir in January 2020. Two more were installed by Gambhir in the Gandhi Nagar and Krishna Nagar markets later that year. Delhi also has a smog-tower at Anand Vihar, built on the same size and technology as the Connaught Place tower, that was set up by the Centre, following Supreme Court orders. Last month, the Aga Khan Trust of Culture had installed a smog tower inside the Sunder Nursery in collaboration with German companies.

The IMD defines an AQI between zero and 50 as “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), at around 2 pm, Anand Vihar had registered an AQI of 375, the highest across all the 38 monitoring stations. In places such as ITO, Lodhi Colony, Jahangirpuri and Dwarka, the air quality had slipped to poor during the day.