Smog Towers Inefficient, At Least 40,000 Needed To Combat Pollution: DPCC Tells NGT As Delhi Reels Under Toxic Air

Delhi Air Pollution:  The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) reportedly told the National Green Tribunal that the operation of smog towers to control air pollution in the city is not a practical idea as a smog tower can only reduce it up to a distance of 100 meters.

The DPCC cited findings from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Bombay and Delhi, which says that a smog tower can only decrease pollution by 17 per cent that too within a 100-meter radius. It would take 40,000 such towers to reduce the pollution in Delhi, the committee said.

While suggesting that the report of IIT Delhi be accepted, DPCC also recommended the transformation of existing smog towers into museums, so that they can be used to disseminate technical knowledge.

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"In case a 17% reduction in 100 m radius is to be considered favourable Delhi needs more than 40,000 such towers to cover its geographic area. This cannot be a practical solution and the result of the experiment should be accepted Smog Tower already erected may be used for dissemination of the technical information about control of air pollution as a museum," the DPCC's report said.

DPCC's statements surfaced in a report filed by it in response to a suo-moto proceeding by the National Green Tribunal on the 'deteriorating' air quality of the national capital.

NGT's action came after some media reports surfaced alleging that out of the two smog towers installed at Connaught Place and Anand Vihar, the latter is not operational.

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The DPCC reported that, based on a two-year study conducted by IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, both smog towers are deemed inefficient. Despite this, the Anand Vihar tower was put into operation following a Supreme Court directive on November 7, according to the DPCC. The report further highlighted that the capital cost of a tower is ₹25 crore, with a recurring cost ranging from ₹10 to 15 lakh per month. Consequently, the DPCC has concluded that continuing the use of smog towers is not justified.

"Both the Towers were for experiment and the experiment results are not at all encouraging to incur the heavy expenditure from the public money," the DPCC submitted.

November 20 is stipulated as the next date for the hearing.