NEW DELHI: Nearly 33 prototypes shortlisted under the Delhi government’s ‘innovation challenge’ to address air pollution are set to enter the second phase of trials, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The shortlisted prototypes include solar-powered, pole-mounted dust traps; filterless devices that capture smoke, dust, and carbon; electrostatic mist sprayers; smart dust-suppression and monitoring systems; and retrofitted, vehicle-mounted air purifiers designed to improve the emission quality in cars.
Selected from a large pool of applications, these innovations were showcased at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi in January this year as part of an exhibition. The challenge, launched by the Delhi government, seeks to identify practical and scalable solutions to tackle the city’s air pollution.
According to an official, “The innovation challenge is now ready to enter the second phase. Trials will begin, and the government will provide the necessary infrastructure for their implementation.”
Another official said the trials are expected to commence in the first week of May and conclude within three months.
An eight-member expert committee, led by IIT Professor Sagnik Dey, will evaluate the proposals to determine the most practical and cost-effective solutions to curb air pollution. The selected innovations will subsequently be adopted by the Delhi government for operational use. An official added that a meeting will be held on Monday to finalise the trial framework and the arrangements for its execution.
“The current plan is to proceed with trials for all 33 innovations. As the process advances, we will begin narrowing down the most effective technologies,” the official noted.
Additionally, according to the guidelines, winning projects will be eligible for incentives from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, including Rs 5 lakh upon successful evaluation by the expert committee and up to Rs 50 lakh for solutions verified by National Physical Laboratory-equivalent labs and recommended for government adoption.
‘Most effective’
The shortlisted prototypes include solar-powered, pole-mounted dust traps; filterless devices that capture smoke
The plan is to proceed with trials for all innovations. The most effective ones will eventually be finalised