New Delhi: Delhi govt has identified 13 locations, including Vikaspuri, Mungeshpur, Narela, Burari, Shastri Park, Tikri and Badarpur, for the installation of new continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) before the winter of 2026.The logic of choosing these areas, primarily in outer Delhi, is to ensure that at least one such station is available within every 5×5 sq km grid, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said. The city currently has 47 operational stations.TOI reported last Nov that the distribution of the stations is uneven in Delhi-NCR. Though the capital has the highest number of such stations for any city in the country, the southwest and northwest peripheries have very few.A report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an NGO, last year found that the existing monitoring network covers only 26% of Delhi’s area within a 2 km radius, leaving a 74% data shadow; and 75% within a 5 km radius, leaving a 25% shadow. This results in the peripheral districts being underserved.Sirsa said out of the 13 stations, 10 will be installed by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and three by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. DPCC has already floated a tender for the installation. “The stations are expected to become operational before this winter,” said Sirsa.In consultation with Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body of Union govt, DPCC has identified the locations by considering the 5×5 grid. They include Chhawla in southwest Delhi, Ghogha in north Delhi, Rohini Sector 33 or Karala village in northwest Delhi, Vikaspuri in west Delhi, Burari in north Delhi, Maidangarhi in south Delhi, Shastri Park in northeast Delhi, Narela in north Delhi, Vasundhara enclave (two possible sites) in east Delhi, Badarpur in southeast Delhi, Jhatikra or Ghummanhera in Najafgarh, Mungeshpur in north-west Delhi and Tikri in west Delhi (two possible sites).An official said that two optional locations have also been selected, including Jharoda Kalan in southwest Delhi and Nangloi in northwest Delhi.Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said that the expansion of the monitoring grid can generate data in peripheral areas or in underserved areas, provide more representative data, and track regional pollutant transport, while isolating local pollution.“As a denser network can prevent hotspots from skewing air quality index (AQI), it is important to place the new monitors in all key polluted industrial areas, places that record heavy traffic and hotspots. It is more important to resolve data gaps, systemic deficiencies, faulty setting of monitors and artificial data “capping” during pollution peaks, which compromise forecasting and GRAP responses. Focus on data integrity, strict quality control and operational transparency to allow legally sound targeted enforcement,” Roychowdhury said.
