Delhi Pollution: Day After Supreme Court Rap, Smog Tower Up And Running At Connaught Place

Delhi Pollution: A team of Delhi government officers was dispatched to inspect the smog tower at Connaught Place and ensure its operationalisation.

A day after the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government over the smog tower being inoperative amid pollution in the national capital, the tower at Connaught Place was repaired and made operational on Wednesday. Mahipal Singh Bisht, a member of the operation team, told news agency ANI that the tower was made operational and the cleaning process was underway.

The development comes a day after the Supreme Court said the smog tower in Delhi was not working and called it "ludicrous". Besides, the top court also passed several directives to states bordering Delhi-NCR -- Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana -- to stop stubble burning and take immediate steps to curtail pollution.

"We have issued orders that the smog tower should be run at full capacity by tomorrow...611 teams have been formed to stop open and biomass burning," ANI quoted Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai as saying.

The 24-metre-high smog tower was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 23, 2021. The AAP government also set up an expert team from IIT-Bombay to study its impact over two years on curbing pollution, which afflicts Delhi every winter. 

Built at a cost of Rs 20 crore, Gopal Rai had last year said the tower could reduce air pollution by 70 to 80 per cent within a radius of 50 metres and by 15 to 20 per cent up to 300 metres.

Blame Game Over Smog Tower 

The Delhi government had blamed Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) chairperson Ashwani Kumar for stopping the release of funds to IIT-Bombay and other agencies working on the smog tower project, PTI reported. On Tuesday, CM Kejriwal recommended the National Capital Civil Services Authority to suspend Kumar over the issue.

The Delhi government had told the apex court that disciplinary action was proposed against Kumar. The court, while replying to this said, “This is ludicrous. We want the tower to be working. As to against which officer what they do is their business.”

With Diwali just four days away, the air quality in Delhi remained in the 'severe' category on Wednesday morning, as per the Central Pollution Control Board. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 421 as compared to 395 at 4 pm on Tuesday.