Govt pushes 33 clean-air ideas to next phase

New Delhi: Around 33 innovative prototypes selected under the Delhi government’s ‘innovation challenge’ to combat air pollution are set to move into the second phase, where real-world trials will be conducted, officials said.

The shortlisted solutions aim to address multiple sources of pollution and include technologies such as solar-powered pole-mounted dust traps, filterless devices designed to capture smoke and particulate matter, electrostatic mist sprayers, and advanced systems for dust suppression and air quality monitoring. Some proposals also focus on retrofitting vehicles with air purification mechanisms to improve emission quality.

These innovations were chosen from a large pool of entries and were showcased earlier this year at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi during a dedicated exhibition. The initiative is part of the government’s broader push to identify scalable and practical solutions to tackle the city’s worsening air quality.

According to officials, the next stage will involve on-ground testing to assess the effectiveness, feasibility, and scalability of each solution. “The innovation challenge is now ready to enter the second phase, where trials will begin, and the government will be providing all necessary infrastructure required for the trials,” an official said. The trials are expected to commence in the first week of May and will likely continue for around three months. During this period, each prototype will be evaluated under real environmental conditions to determine its performance and cost-effectiveness.

An eight-member expert committee, headed by IIT Delhi Professor Sagnik Dey, has been constituted to oversee the evaluation process. The panel will review the results of the trials and identify the most viable solutions that can be implemented on a larger scale across the capital. Officials indicated that once the assessment is complete, selected technologies will be adopted by the Delhi government for operational use as part of its long-term pollution control strategy. Another official said that a meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday

to finalise the framework for the trials and necessary logistical arrangements. with pti inputs