The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) is planning to install 23 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) across the state, including five in Gurugram, before year-end, officials said on Saturday.
The proposal was presented before the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) during a meeting with board members on Wednesday. It also added setting up of manual “low-cost” air quality monitors as part of a “grid-based spatial coverage arrangement,” where a city is divided into equal zones for uniform coverage.
In Gurugram, the proposed locations include peri-urban and transitional zones in Behrampur (Sector 71) and Jahajgarh (Sector 106); residential clusters and urban background areas like Tau Devilal Park (Sector 22) and Leisure Valley Park (Sector 29); and urban sprawls near a water treatment plant in Chandu village along Gurugram-Jhajjar border road.
The proposal, seen by HT, aims to monitor densely populated clusters and background areas of Sectors 22-29 to establish a baseline for the city’s air quality.
“Based on the latest CAQM formula, each station will cover a 25 sq-km grid, forming a network across Gurugram. Stations at parks will cover public areas and downwind accumulation zones near industrial suburbs,” a senior HSPCB official said.
Currently, Gurugram has three CAAQMS operated by HSPCB in Sector 51, Vikas Sadan and Teri Gram, along with one maintained by the India Meteorological Department at NISE Gwal Pahari. “The CAQM sub-committee reviewed the proposal and sought a few modifications. A new proposal will be submitted during the next debrief,” another official added.
Officials said the board is also planning to install low-cost monitors in industrial clusters to track periodic spikes in air pollution levels.
The latest CAQM criteria for installation should include population distribution, land-use classification across residential, traffic, industrial and background categories.
Officials said the CAAQMS will be purchased through environmental compensation and funds from the World Bank under the Haryana Clean Air Project at an estimated cost of ₹3,647 crore to cut down state-wide industrial and vehicular emissions by 2030.
Meanwhile, the CAQM is also expected to procure another seven stations for other districts later this year. The state has 32 monitoring stations,including 22 in NCR, falling short of 23 stations in the commission’s assessment of 45 CAAQMS.
HSPCB is also planning to purchase manual grids and mobile CAAQMS machines, with at least ₹5 crore procurement cost per machine to measure air quality up to 50 hours from unreachable locations, officials added.
