New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) The Environment Ministry on Tuesday announced that 27 new air pollution monitoring stations will be installed across Delhi–NCR, a move aimed at strengthening real-time air quality surveillance and enabling more evidence-based policy interventions to curb pollution in the region.
Officials said that of the 27 planned stations, six Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) have already been installed, while the remaining are in the pipeline. Installation is currently underway for seven stations in Haryana, four in Rajasthan, and ten in Uttar Pradesh.
The ministry also said that a grid-based spatial framework for air quality monitoring across the National Capital Region (NCR) is under consideration, in line with population-density norms.
The monitoring density should also take into account land-use characteristics such as residential, traffic, industrial and background areas, urban contiguity and the rapid expansion of peri-urban/suburban regions.
Under the existing guidelines, Delhi and neighbouring cities, including Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Sonipat, are required to install at least one monitoring station for every 25 sq. km (a 5 km × 5 km grid). Other district headquarters and cities would have one station for every 50 sq. km, officials said.
The expansion plan also includes setting up monitoring stations along border areas to track the transport of pollutants across state boundaries.
According to officials, 46 additional air quality monitoring stations are proposed, 14 in Delhi, 16 in Haryana (NCR), one in Rajasthan (NCR), and 15 in Uttar Pradesh (NCR). These are expected to strengthen and standardise the air quality data network across Delhi–NCR.
With the addition of these stations, the total number of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in Delhi-NCR would rise to 157, including 60 in Delhi, 45 in Haryana (NCR), nine in Rajasthan (NCR), and 43 in Uttar Pradesh.
