This park in Delhi could soon be ‘pollution-free’. Here are the details

“The government is planning to extend this initiative on a large-scale basis, starting with Nehru Park… The premises has a good green cover. But when the air-quality level deteriorates overall, it also affects this space — even if the AQI is better than other locations. So, with these machines, we want to make this park pollution-free,” he said.

Officials said the locations for the trial run were selected based on whether they saw a large influx of vehicles or where pedestrian footfall was high.

“For instance, Anand Vihar-ISBT sees buses passing through, it has a high footfall, and there is construction work going on. So, this spot was suggested by the Commission for Air Quality Management. In Jangpura, the machines were installed at a petrol pump, which also sees vehicles passing through. As for the two other locations, one is a residential area and the other a hotel. Thus, the key aim is to reduce harmful exposure to people in outdoor spaces that see a high footfall,” said an official.

According to officials, a performance report from ISBT-Anand Vihar showed the efficiency of the air purifiers was at 85% while particulate matter (PM) concentration reduced by 30% in a radius of 4,500 sqm. Ten machines were installed at this location, with one machine covering 1,000 sqm.

Besides, in a month, the machines removed about 1,710 grams of particles. It consumed 1,500 units of electricity per month while operating 24×7, officials added.

How will it work?

Officials said the air purifiers are manufactured under a collaboration with Umeandus Technologies; the latter is the technology owner.
Explaining how the machine works, Sirsa said, “A normal air purifier comes with a filter, which gets damaged easily and needs to be replaced often. These machines have a storage system inside them that can store particulate matter for three years… and will be disposed of in a systematic way…”

Officials added, “It provides a solution to control pollution at industrial areas and hotspots, and can help in exposure reduction in outdoor areas with a high footfall… It has also been observed that the air purifier is best to achieve PM-neutrality.”

For Nehru Park, spread across 85 acres, it is estimated that about 150 machines, each covering a range of 700 metres, will be needed. However, officials said, the environment department, in collaboration with the NDMC, will conduct a study to determine the exact number.

“This is going to be a CSR initiative… the government will not have to spend any money — it will hire 2-3companies to implement this project and monitor it,” said officials.

The minister will also hold a meeting with NDMC officials and visit some of these locations to inspect these machines on Saturday. If the project is a success at Nehru Park, officials said it is planned to be extended to the Sarojini Nagar Market.

To be sure, this isn’t the first experiment in cleaning Delhi’s air.

The previous AAP Delhi government had explored various measures to control air pollution, including the installation of two smog towers at Connaught Place and Anand Vihar. However, these were later found to be largely ineffective in combating air pollution.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had even recommended shutting down the smog tower at Connaught Place, stating that its impact on overall air quality was minimal. In 2023, the pollution control body had written to the Environment Department, providing its assessment of the two-year-long project. It reported that the reduction in particulate matter was only about 12% to 13% within a 100-metre radius of the smog tower.