The Delhi government will set up a lab for real-time pollution data monitoring and gathering in each district of the national capital, Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Wednesday. Presenting the Delhi Budget for the financial year 2023-24 in the assembly, he said PM2.5 and PM10 pollution in the city has reduced by more than 30 per cent in the last eight years “(Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal’s Delhi has a new anti-pollution plan — real-time pollution data lab will be set up in each district,” Gahlot said. The Delhi government is conducting a study to identify the real-time contribution of emission sources to the air pollution in the city. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur is leading the study with IIT-Delhi and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) involved in providing insights and technical assistance. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is the nodal body for the project.
In January, Kejriwal had inaugurated the “supersite” — a data gathering and analysis set up — and an air quality monitoring van at the Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in central Delhi’s Rouse Avenue.
Gahlot said the government will plant 52 lakh trees in this financial year and focus on reducing road dust pollution.