IIT Delhi researchers to help Ghaziabad, Noida combat rising air pollution

The NCAP is a long-term and time-bound national-level strategy to tackle air pollution across the country in a comprehensive manner. It has targets to achieve 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in particulate matter concentration by 2024 with 2017 as the base year.

The regional officials of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) for Ghaziabad and Noida, which are amongst 132 cities in the country that have been selected for the National Clean Air Porgramme, have collaborated with experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, who will be helping the twin cities to combat the rising air pollution. The contract was signed in the presence of Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.

The NCAP is a long-term and time-bound national-level strategy to tackle air pollution across the country in a comprehensive manner. It has targets to achieve 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in particulate matter concentration by 2024 with 2017 as the base year. As part of the programme, 132 cities have signed MoUs with expert institutions for executing planned action in a time-bound manner to tackle air pollution.

Both Ghaziabad and Noida are also on the list of non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh having high levels of air pollution. Officials of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said abatement plans, comprising short-term and long-term measures, have been prepared to tackle air pollution.

“The IIT experts will help the two cities with technical support and identify sources and methods required for tackling pollution. The action plans are all ready. The experts will help the authorities in prioritising the measures which can be taken up swiftly and also in a cost-effective manner. We hope officials start discussions so that some measures can be prioritized and implemented before winter,” said Dr Sagnik Dey, assistant professor from IIT- Delhi, who will be coordinating with the officials of the two cities.

"Now that the MoUs have been signed, we will start with implementation of our air pollution abatement plan,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer of UPPCB, Noida, who was present when the MoUs were signed.

UPPCB officials from Ghaziabad said they, along with officials of the municipal corporation, will hold discussions with IIT experts. “The experts from IIT Delhi will provide technical expertise and also help us fine-tune our air-pollution abatement plan. We are expecting to implement the plan before winter,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB, Ghaziabad.

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