DPCC seeks new ally to track pollution in Delhi

New Delhi: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is in search of an organization, either government or private, to create a new plan to track pollution sources in the city in real time. However, it’s unlikely that real-time pollution source tracking will resume this year because the chosen organization will have to update the current method, officials said.

The DPCC is looking for a pollution monitoring site at Rouse Avenue and a mobile van as well; both were earlier used by IIT Kanpur to get the exact data of pollution levels. A senior DPCC official, who did not want to be named, said there were concerns about IIT Kanpur’s method, which was not fully successful last year.

As a result, they decided to develop a new method. “It was informed to IIT Kanpur several times that the data was collected not the scientific way. Therefore, a new method is being proposed, but it will take some time in its implementation,” as per the official.

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IIT Kanpur’s two-year term for managing the equipment ended in November 2023. Last month, Delhi’s environment minister, Gopal Rai, asked the principal secretary (environment and forest) to make sure the DPCC gets the real-time source tracking system working before winter.

The DPCC official said they have taken control of the monitoring site and van, which are now being used to measure air quality. However, they won’t be able to identify pollution sources in real-time until a new expert institution is selected.