Delhi Chief Minister inaugurates city's first 'Smog Tower'

(With inputs from PTI)

While Delhi has earned itself a bad name for being the gas chamber of the country, owing to the rising pollution level in the city, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal recently took a step ahead to curb this challenge as he inaugurated the nation's first-ever smog tower, on recently in the Connaught Place area of the national capital region.

The smog tower project received a nod for go-ahead in October last year.  Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai mentioned that the smog tower is a 20-meter-tall structure that has been set up to improve the air quality of the surrounding areas. It will cleanse the air within its one-kilometer radius. The tower is said to work at its full capacity after the monsoon season. The smog tower is built at a cost of Rs 20 crore and has been funded by the Government of Delhi.

Rai also mentioned, “Thereafter, experts will ascertain its impact on pollution. Based on the results, we will make a decision on installing more such equipment.” 

Initiatives as this, are essential to clean and maintain the air quality of Delhi which is one of the most polluted cities not only in India but across the world. Such a tower reduces pollution-causing particles in the air and works as a large-scale air purifier. Since the past few years, the national capital has witnessed a major drop in its air quality.

Elaborating on the functioning of the smog tower, Rai said, on August 19, that the smog tower at Connaught Place will be able to purify 1,000 cubic meters of air every second. As reported by PTI, according to an official, a study will be undertaken for two years to analyse the effectiveness of the tower after it starts operating. Also, a control room has also been set up at the site for monitoring of its operations.

In the meantime, the Centre has also set up a 25-meter-tall smog tower at Delhi’s Anand Vihar, which might be functional by the end of the month, as per statements from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Tata Projects Limited (TPL) took the task to build both the smog towers for the Delhi Government and for the Centre. The TPL has taken technical assistance from IIT Bombay in association with IIT Delhi. Further, the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) India Ltd. has been appointed as the project management consultant.

“Tata Projects Ltd is proud to have constructed the nation’s first smog tower, thereby bringing this cutting-edge technological solution to India. This solution will hopefully reduce India’s urban air pollution,thereby improving the lives of citizens. Large areas of cities can be covered if such smog towers are strategically placed at densely populated urban locations. We are prepared to offer our expertise and experience in setting up more such smog towers across Indian cities, so that citizens can breathe cleaner air, asserted Sandeep Navlakhe, Vice President & BU Head - Buildings, Tata Projects Ltd. 

Reportedly, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been made the nodal agency for the smog tower in Connaught Place while the CPCB has been made the nodal agency for the tower in Anand Vihar. The two towers host 1,200 air filters each. These have been developed by the University of Minnesota in the United States. These towers are likely to cut down the concentration of PM2.5 levels up to 70 per cent in a one-kilometre radius around them.