Delhi: Government to establish 6 new air monitoring stations; JNU, IGNOU, among locations

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will set up six new air monitoring stations at key locations, including JNU, IGNOU and Delhi Cantt, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has said. With this, the number of such stations will rise to 46. The move is part of the newly formed BJP government's strategy to expand its air monitoring infrastructure to ensure better preparedness to battle yearly smog and overall poor air quality.

The stations will come up at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) , Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Delhi Cantonment, Netaji Subhash University (West Campus), and the Commonwealth Games Sports Complex, Sirsa told PTI. "These new stations will help us track pollution patterns more accurately and guide our response with real-time data. The installation process is underway and we are targeting completion by June 30," the minister said.

He said the government is addressing pollution at every level – from large-scale industrial emissions to localised sources. Last month, Sirsa in an interview said that the city government will ensure that Delhi sees more clean air days in winter. "We will not wait until winter to take action. Our work to purify Delhi has already started, and as part of this, we will also add new ambient air quality monitoring stations," Sirsa told PTI.

40 monitoring stations in Delhi

The establishment of the six new stations was announced in March by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. At present, Delhi has 40 monitoring stations located at sites such as Alipur, Anand Vihar, Aya Nagar, Bawana, Burari, Chandni Chowk, DTU, Dwarka, IGI Airport, IHBAS, ITO, Jahangirpuri, Lodhi Road, Najafgarh, and Narela. However, several densely populated areas remain unmonitored, and some stations are positioned in less inhabited zones like the Asola Bhatti Forest and Siri Fort. Some of the stations are located in less inhabited areas such as IHBAS, Shri Aurobindo Marg, Karni Singh Shooting Range within the Asola Bhatti Forest Range, and Siri Fort near the Hauz Khas forest.