Gurgaon lags behind other NCR cities in monitoring AQI

Gurgaon: While all NCR cities are working on increasing the number of air quality monitoring machines, Gurgaon still has just two machines to rely on.
Until November last year, the city had only one pollution measuring station, located at Vikas Sadan near Rajiv Chowk. This machine was installed in 2012. The second air quality monitoring machine was installed in Manesar, after missing two deadlines. Though there is an air quality monitoring machine installed by IMD on Delhi-Gurgaon (Aya Nagar) border near Gwalpahari, the machine hardly covers the city area.
In August 2016, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) made an announcement that it will install the second air quality monitoring machine in Gurgaon and the installation will be completed within a year. Later, the deadline was extended to September 2018.
However, after EPCA chief Bhure Lal gave strict directions to the state government in September 2018, the second machine was installed in November.
An HSPCB official told TOI that Gurgaon will soon have two more air quality monitoring machines and Faridabad will get three more machines.
“While technical bid for the five machines have already been done, we are now waiting for the financial approvals. As soon as high purchase committee approves it, Gurgaon will have two more air monitoring machines while Faridabad will have three more machines. I think these five machines will be installed before the arrival of winters this year,” said HSPCB member secretary S Narayanan.
Calling installation of air quality motoring machines as ‘the first step’ to combat pollution, Dipankar Saha, a former head of air pollution monitoring at the Central Pollution Control Board, said, “Monitoring the air quality is the first step for drafting an action plan to combat air pollution in the city. It helps in giving accurate data that will further help in setting goals to bring down air pollution in Gurgaon. Two air quality monitoring stations are certainly not enough for a city like Gurgaon.”
Meanwhile, Bhure Lal told TOI, “Installation of air quality monitoring systems is the most important step. If Delhi had not installed these many monitoring stations, it would have been difficult to make people aware about the rising levels of pollution and take necessary actions. Since Gurgaon is expanding every day, more air quality monitoring machines are certainly needed in the city. I will definitely take up the matter with the Haryana government.”