Start Smog Tower Work Soon: Top Court Tells Centre After Deadline Lapses

Half a year since the Supreme Court ordered installation of a Smog Tower, aimed to help combat air pollution, "within three months" in Delhi's most polluted area - Anand Vihar - it pulled up the Central and state governments directing them to "start at the earliest".

During a hearing in January, the court had granted three months' time for installation of smog towers in the national capital's Connaught Place and Anand Vihar areas.

"Installing the smog tower, a structure designed as a large-scale air purifier, would take 10 months and the authorities would be unable to reduce this time limit," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court on behalf of the government.

"It is ok, but the work should start at the earliest," the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said, directing Mr Mehta to submit a time frame, including a starting date, on August 10.

During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, the Solicitor General told the court that Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay would oversee the project, funding for which would be provided by the government.

The court had earlier, on July 30, questioned the Centre as to why its three-month deadline was not complied with, and rebuked IIT Bombay for trying to back out of the smog tower project saying that this was "not expected of such institutions".

The bench had said it was "not at all happy with the state of affairs" of the project for installing the smog tower and non-compliance with its order would be "taken seriously".

In January this year, while directing installation of smog tower at Anand Vihar, the Supreme Court had also directed use of anti-smog guns in the National Capital Region for large construction sites, road construction stretches, mining activities, large parking sites on unpaved areas and during large public gatherings, demolition activities etc.

The top court had passed these directives while hearing the matter relating to air pollution in the Delhi-NCR.