NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday said pollution control requires sustained, year-round action while inaugurating six Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) stations to expand real-time tracking of air quality across the capital. She also flagged off 100 ‘Vayu Rakshak’ vehicles for stricter monitoring and enforcement of pollution control norms.
Now, the total number of CAAQMS in Delhi has increased to 46, making it the largest air quality monitoring network in any city in the country.
Of these, 30 stations are operated by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), 10 by the India Meteorological Department/IITM, and 6 by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Also, 14 monitoring stations are planned to be installed soon.
Gupta said that providing clean and breathable air to the people of Delhi is a core responsibility of the government. She highlighted that air quality data is fully transparent, available in the public domain.
Stating that the government believes in evidence-based policymaking backed by transparent data, she said that PM10 and PM2.5 data are updated every hour, while data for other parameters are updated every five minutes.
As part of the initiative, 100 ‘Vayu Rakshaks’ have been deployed to work in coordination with the DPCC for on-ground pollution control. In addition, 600 Vayu Rakshaks, in coordination with the Delhi Police, are monitoring violations related to traffic and emissions.