GMDA invites bids for AQI monitoring network

GURUGRAM: GMDA has invited expression of interest from companies who want to set up the city’s air quality monitoring network. While the authority has already received a few proposals, it has given a week’s time to other companies interested in the project.
According to GMDA’s proposal, the air monitors to be installed should be capable of recording concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 in the air at any given point in time. As per current estimates, GMDA is planning to install 15 such air monitors across the city, though locations have not been finalised.

“Even though we have already received a few proposals in this regard, we have set January 11 as the deadline for filing expressions of interest (EoIs), in order to give equal opportunity to others who might be interested in setting up the network,” said a senior GMDA official.

The cost of the project will be borne by raising CSR funds, said the officials. Currently, the city has three air motoring stations — at Vikas Sadan, in Manesar and in NISE institute on Gurugram-Faridabad road. The recordings of the Vikas Sadan station are used as reference for the air quality of the entire city.

This has led to lowering of credibility of the city’s AQI readings, because while one station can’t possibly give readings for all areas of the city, the credibility of the readings from the station itself has been under a cloud of late, after CPCB pulled up the city administration in this regard.

The new air monitoring stations will help authorities better monitor and understand the city’s pollution levels, and take both reactive and proactive pollution control measures.

TOI had earlier reported that GMDA will soon install 15 new air monitoring stations across different locations in the city, to ensure a better mechanism for pollution monitoring and control. Given the high cost of installing these stations, they will only monitor PM2.5 and PM10.