Delhi’s clear air project aimed at providing safe zone: Govt

The project is directed at determining if the air quality index of a particular location can be lowered

The Delhi government aims to create a safe outdoor space for citizens to go on morning walks during the peak pollution season, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Sirsa said on Sunday, during an inspection of Nehru Park, where the government is planning to install 150 outdoor air purifiers in a pilot project.

Delhi ministers Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Pavesh Kumar inspect Nehru Park on Sunday. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

The project is directed at determining if the air quality index of a particular location can be lowered, officials said. If the study confirms both impact and practicality, similar “Clean Air Zones” could be considered at Connaught Place, Khan Market and other high-footfall locations, they said.

“AQI (air quality index) is a big challenge in Delhi. We are conducting a study in Nehru Park…We are trying to determine if we can lower the AQI in a particular location. If this project is successful, this area will have nearly 50% lesser AQI than the rest of Delhi. When pollution is bad, doctors ask everyone to not go outside, in such a situation there should be an area where people can come for a walk or jog,” Sirsa said.

Sirsa said the devices—which can be up to nine feet tall—that primarily filter out particulate matter having a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), will be spread across the 85-acre park and maintain “good” air quality even during peak pollution periods.

Each purifier will cover approximately 600 square metres and requires approval from the New Delhi Municipal Council before installation can begin, Sirsa had said on Friday.

Delhi grapples with hazardous air pollution levels that peak in the transition to winter. The move to install air purifiers follows the closure of two expensive smog towers that authorities deemed ineffective, after the then Aam Aadmi Party government touted them as a first-of-its-kind solution to the city’s air crisis.

The new project will be carried out through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnership with private firm Umeandus, which has tested the technology at four locations, including Anand Vihar, at a petrol pump in Jangpura, New Moti Bagh and outside the Taj Ambassador hotel. Officials said each machine costs around ₹5 lakh and the project will be funded through CSR initiatives.

The initiative forms part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s broader air quality strategy, including its manifesto promise to halve Delhi’s pollution levels by 2030.

Sirsa said, “We are doing a lot of things to lower the AQI in Delhi. Very soon, Delhi will also see artificial rain, the efforts of which have been ongoing for nearly 10 years. Our government will achieve that in about four months.”

Earlier this month, the government also released a “Mitigation Action Plan”, featuring over 1,000 water sprinklers, 140 anti-smog guns, cloud seeding experiments, audits of pollution under control centres every six months, installation of automatic number plate recognition cameras at Delhi’s border points for end-of-life vehicles, and inducting 5,000 additional electric buses.

A release from Sirsa’s office said: “This proposed initiative is part of Delhi’s broader Environmental Action Plan 2025 which includes reviving long-pending artificial rain projects, daily mechanical sweeping, mist spraying, and enforcement of construction norms. Anti-smog guns have been made mandatory for large construction sites, and real-time compliance monitoring is underway. Legacy landfill bio-mining is actively progressing at Ghazipur, Bhalswa, and Okhla, aiming for permanent removal of hazardous waste.”

The field inspection at Nehru Park was conducted by Sirsa and Public Works Department (PWD) minister Pravesh Verma along with officials from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and PWD.

“Since we have formed the government, our cabinet minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and his department have taken many steps in lowering pollution and AQI in Delhi. Road infrastructure is also important for air quality. We have also requested a funding of ₹1,000 crore from the central government for this. We hope this fund will soon be released for new roads and flyover projects,” Verma said on Sunday.