NEW DELHI: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that smog towers are not a “practical solution” to curb pollution in the national capital mainly due to its enormous cost. It has also said that the two smog towers installed at Anand Vihar and Connaught Place have not been effective.
The DPCC views have been communicated to the Delhi government, but no concrete decision has emerged, the anti-pollution body has said. “It has been found that the efficacy of the smog tower has not impacted the air quality,” DPCC says in its action taken report on the worsening air pollution in the city. The report said the Delhi area, which is 1,483 sq km, may require 47,229 smog towers costing Rs 11,80,725 crore (approx) plus a recurring cost of about Rs 15 lakh per month for each tower.
“In case a 17% reduction in a 100 m radius is to be considered favourable, Delhi needs more than 40,000 such towers to cover its area. This cannot be a practical solution… the smog towers already erected may be used for dissemination of technical information about air pollution as a museum,” the report said. The two towers installed were meant for experiment and the “results are not at all encouraging to bear a heavy expenditure.”
The report referred to the IIT-Bombay and DPCC’s own assessment, saying that the two smog towers have not been effective.
Action taken: ‘Use 2 smog towers as museum’ The DPCC report says in case a 17% cut in a 100-m radius is considered favourable, Delhi needs more than 40,000 smog towers to cover its area. This cannot be a practical solution. “The two smog towers may be used for dissemination of technical information about air pollution as a museum, it added.
