First anti-smog tower in Film City by Nov 15, says Noida authority

The 20-metre-tall anti-smog tower -- the first one in the city -- over a space of 400 square metres will mitigate air pollution, starting this winter

The Noida authority on Thursday said that it will install an anti-smog tower along the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) road, near the Film City in Noida, by November 15 this year, to mitigate air pollution in the area.

The work on the ground has started, and the authority will announce the move officially after it is approved in a board meeting scheduled on Friday (September 24), said officials. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Archive)

The 20-metre-tall anti-smog tower -- the first one in the city -- over a space of 400 square metres will mitigate air pollution, starting this winter.

According to officials, the Noida authority will build this tower under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, being arranged from the central government’s public sector undertakings (PSUs). A budget of ₹2.5 crore has been set for the project.

The work on the ground has started, and the authority will announce the move officially after it is approved in a board meeting scheduled on Friday (September 24), they added.

“Air pollution is a big problem during the winters. If implementation of this tower is successful, the authority may also install anti-smog towers at other locations in the city,” said a Noida authority official, requesting anonymity.

The tower will clean air with polluting particles around it and release the purified air. Equipped with intake and exhaust fans, the tower will initially run with the help of electricity. The authority, however, plans to run the tower with the help of solar energy later. “We will require ₹3 lakh per month to run this tower properly. As of now, we will use electricity to run it, and will install solar panels later,” said the official.

The maintenance cost of the tower, excluding electricity charge, includes changing of filters which will clean pollutants in the air.

“We will have to change the filters every 15 days,” the official added.

Covering an area of 1,000 metres radius around it, the tower benefiting the residents in sectors 15, 15A, 16, 16A (Film City), 17 and 19 among other areas. At least 1 lakh commuters travel along the DND and the Delhi-Noida Expressway link road, it will be beneficial for them too, said the authority officials.

A machine fixed inside the tower will remove nearly 80% of the particulate matter i.e. PM2.5 and PM10 in the air, and help bring down the pollution levels in the area.

In November 2019, the Supreme Court had asked the central and Delhi governments to come up with a road map for installing smog towers in the national capital region (NCR) to combat air pollution.