To help combat rising air pollution in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate India’s first-ever smog tower on Monday at Baba Kharak Singh Marg in the Connaught Place area. In October 2020, the Delhi cabinet approved the project. The 20-meter-long structure, which was built to improve air quality in a one-kilometer radius, will operate at full capacity after the monsoon season, according to environment minister Gopal Rai. The Delhi government paid for the tower, which cost 20 crores to construct.
“Thereafter, experts will ascertain its impact on pollution. Based on the results, we will take a decision on installing more equipment,” he told reporters. Earlier, the minister said the construction work of the smog tower was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
A smog tower is a structure that acts as a large-scale air purifier to reduce pollution particles in the air. It is critical equipment for Delhi, which is one of the most polluted cities in the country and the world, with air quality steadily declining in recent years.
The smog tower at Connaught Place, according to Environment Minister Rai, will be able to purify 1,000 cubic metres of air every second. According to news agency PTI, a two-year study will be conducted to determine the tower’s effectiveness once it is operational, and a control room has been set up at the site to monitor its operations.
Meanwhile, the Centre has constructed a 25-meter-high smog tower at Anand Vihar, which is expected to be operational by the end of August, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Tata Projects Limited (TPL) built both smog towers with technical assistance from IIT Bombay in collaboration with IIT Delhi. The project management consultant will be National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) India Ltd.
According to PTI, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee is in charge of the smog tower in Connaught Place, while the Central Pollution Control Board is in charge of the tower in Anand Vihar. Experts from the University of Minnesota in the United States developed 1,200 air filters for each tower. In a one-kilometer radius around them, they are expected to reduce PM2.5 concentrations by up to 70%.
