Pollution: Delhi Cabinet approves pact for real-time source apportionment project

New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved a pact between IIT Kanpur and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for a real-time source apportionment study for effective pollution management in the city.

The Delhi Cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal said the project will go a long way in identifying and resolving factors behind pollution in the capital.

A detailed proposal titled "Real-Time Source Apportionment and Forecasting for Advance Air Pollution Management in Delhi" has been submitted by Prof Mukesh Sharma, IIT-Kanpur.

A team of experts from IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Delhi, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), and IISER Mohali will execute the study. The DPCC is the nodal agency for finalising and implementing its terms of reference.

The Rs 12-crore project will help identify the factors responsible for increase in air pollution at any spot in Delhi such as vehicles, dust, biomass burning, stubble burning and emissions from industries.

A mobile laboratory equipped with instruments will scour various areas in Delhi. There will be a supersite where data will be collected and interpreted for necessary action, an official of the Environment Department said.

Based on the results obtained, the Delhi government will be able to take the necessary actions to curb the sources of pollution.  The technology to carry out real-time source apportionment of pollution has not been implemented in any other city in the country, a Delhi government statement said.

The city government had in 2018 roped in the University of Washington to conduct this study over a period of 18 months.

However, a three-member panel set up to examine the report submitted by the university raised several red flags, including over the methodology used and data generated, following which it was cancelled. PTI GVS AAR