Anti-smog tower shut, staff say yet to be paid

The anti-smog tower near Connaught Place, which was made operational in November following directions from the Supreme Court, was once again shut down on Sunday, with the personnel manning the facility locking it up, citing nonpayment of their salary.

The day-to-day operations of the tower, located on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, are managed by a 13-member team. A staff member, on condition of anonymity, said that following the Supreme Court order, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) employed them to restart the facility on November 8, but they are yet to be paid their salaries.

"Therefore, we had no other option but to close down the operations," the staffer said. Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj blamed ureaucracy for the shutting down of the anti-smog tower's operations. "All powers have been given to a few officials, and now they are working as per their wish... Officials are not following the orders of ministers because they know that no action will be taken against them," he said.

DPCC officials did not respond to requests for comment.

To be sure, experts have long argued that smog towers are not a long-term solution to Delhi's air pollution problem, and that not only would people have to remain extremely close to the smog tower to breathe clean air, but thousands of such smog towers would have to be installed across the city to bring about a change in air quality.