NEW DELHI: A dedicated team of officials from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) took action on Wednesday morning to recommence operations at the non-functional anti-smog tower situated in Connaught Place. This response followed a decisive directive from the Supreme Court, which ordered the immediate reactivation of the tower.
An official from the DPCC’s technical team reported that the facility has been restored in accordance with the Supreme Court’s mandate, and comprehensive maintenance of equipment and rooms is currently underway. “The facility had been deactivated since April. All the ventilation systems are now operational, and trials are being conducted. We anticipate a gradual increase in the fan speeds,” the official stated.
The DPCC has not issued an immediate response to requests for comments.
Delhi’s air quality index, on Wednesday, was categorized as severe, with a recorded air quality index of 425 at 1 pm, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board.
During a court session on Tuesday, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia affirmed, “We want this tower to be working,” and further stated, “We direct the chairperson of DPCC to remain personally present in court on the next date.” The court’s attention was drawn to the non-operational status of the smog tower, inaugurated in August 2021, in the context of addressing air pollution issues in Delhi. It was highlighted that disciplinary action had been proposed against the DPCC chairman.
While DPCC officials initiated efforts to reactivate the tower on Wednesday, Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, pointed out that the pollution control body had not responded to the government’s prior request to take action.
“We had written to the Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor regarding the cessation of the anti-smog tower and the discontinuation of the real-time source apportionment study. In this case, disciplinary action must be taken. The smog tower was established in compliance with a Supreme Court order, but neither the court nor the cabinet was informed before its closure,” Rai added.
On November 4, Rai had previously held the DPCC chairman responsible for unilaterally shutting down the tower due to unpaid dues to IIT and had sought the official’s suspension “for not implementing the decision of the council of ministers, arbitrarily stopping payment of Rs2 crore to IIT Kanpur, which led to the discontinuation of the source apportionment study and for acting on unsubstantiated personal opinions.”
The installation of the anti-smog tower came about following a Supreme Court order on January 13, 2020. Subsequently, on October 9, 2020, the Delhi cabinet formally endorsed the installation of the unit as a pilot project for a duration of two years. The tower was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in August 2021.
Rai emphasized that IIT Mumbai and IIT Delhi had submitted a semi-annual report indicating the effectiveness of the tower within a radius of 500 meters, with the ongoing study bearing promising results. “However, the DPCC chairman, wielding his authority, acted against the Supreme Court’s order and suspended payments for the study of the smog tower. Following this, the agencies discontinued the study, leading to the tower’s closure,” Rai asserted.
Experts have consistently argued that smog towers represent a short-term solution to Delhi’s air quality predicament. They contend that individuals must remain in close proximity to the tower to breathe cleaner air, and deploying a multitude of such smog towers throughout the city is imperative to bring about a substantial improvement in air quality.
