Ghaziabad to get fifth air-quality monitoring station in July

Ghaziabad continues to face high pollution levels. In the 2021 World Air Quality Report by Swiss firm IQAir, the city was ranked as the second-most polluted city across the world

The Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) has started the process of setting up the fifth ambient air quality monitoring station in Ghaziabad at a site in South Side GT Road Industrial area near National Highway 9, officials said, adding that UPPCB had directed a private company to get the station installed.

The city has only a few monitoring stations, and they do not give a correct picture of the overall pollution levels. (Sakkib Ali/HT Photo)

Initially, the city operated only one station at Vasundhara while three others were installed at Shakti Khand in Indirapuram, Nagar Palika building in Loni and at Sanjay Nagar Combined District Hospital in January 2019.

According to UPPCB officials, the new station will be installed at the premises of Continental Carbon India Limited (CCIL) in Ghaziabad, with the cost being covered by the company.

Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB, said, “This will be the fifth station in Ghaziabad, in addition to the existing stations at Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Sanjay Nagar, and Loni. We requested CCIL to install the system, and they have expedited the installation process. Initially, this station will monitor parameters like Particulate Matter, and later on, other parameters will also be monitored, similar to the other stations.”

The CCIL site is located adjacent to NH9 and in close proximity to Crossings Republik Township and Vijay Nagar in Ghaziabad.

Neeraj Singh, head of administration at CCIL, said, “CCIL will bear the cost of the new station, and it is expected to be installed in July. The work has already begun. Initially, the station will monitor parameters such as PM10, PM2.5, and Carbon Monoxide. Monitoring of other parameters will be phased in gradually. We are investing approximately ₹70 lakh in the project.”

Ghaziabad continues to face high pollution levels. In the 2021 World Air Quality Report by Swiss firm IQAir, the city was ranked as the second-most polluted city across the world. However, the 2022 report ranked Ghaziabad more favorably at the 11th spot, indicating a reduction in annual average PM2.5 readings.

Sushil Raghav, an environmentalist based in the city, remarked, “The city has only a few air quality monitoring stations, and they do not represent the overall pollution levels in the city and the entire district. The district should have at least one station in each of the 16 industrial areas, as well as one in each of the eight local bodies, apart from the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation. Only the existing four stations cannot provide an accurate assessment of pollution levels for the entire city or district.”