Hyderabad: Looking East has become the new buzzword when it comes to real-estate development in the city and the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB), which received Rs 10.58 crore from the central government to install new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), is planning to set up six new monitoring stations, including some in the developing eastern corridor of the city.
“Most of our current stations are in industrial areas, and there is one near the city zoo. While they do give us an idea of pollution in those areas, we need to tabulate the pollution levels within the city, especially in the eastern belt,” said a senior TSPCB official.
Presently, the city has six systems in place at Bolaram, UoH, ICRISAT, IDA Pashamylaram, Sanathnagar and Nehru Zoological Park.
To set up the new stations, the central government’s Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has released Rs 10.58 crore to the state government. The money was released four months ago.
“The funds were given to improve air-quality monitoring capabilities in Hyderabad, Patancheru and Nalgonda as they featured in the Non-Attainment cities with respect to Ambient Air Quality India (2011-2015) and WHO report 2014/2018. So, we had come up with an action plan accordingly,” the official said.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines, a city which has a population of 50 lakh or more needs to have more than six CAAQMS.
The Board has already floated tenders for the same and officials are hopeful that the new stations will increase the monitoring network. “The new stations will be set up near Uppal, L B Nagar, Tarnaka and a other areas,” said the official.
