North India Statesman
[ad_1]
Every year, with the arrival of winter in Delhi and surrounding areas, it becomes difficult to breathe. There are many claims to reduce pollution, but the ground reality is different. But now it seems that the government is going to take the help of technology to get to the root of this problem.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is bringing a new system that can give sleepless nights to polluters. The name of this new digital weapon has been given- PAVAN (Platform for Air Quality Vigilance and Analytics).
What is this ‘PAVAN’ and how will it work?
If understood in simple language, ‘PAVAN’ will work like an online spy. Till now, what used to happen was that officials would go for inspection, then report would be made in the files, and it would take a long time before the action was taken. But with the arrival of ‘Pavan’, all this will happen in a “paperless” i.e. digital manner without paper.
This platform will keep an eye on every activity in Delhi-NCR that pollutes the air – be it smoke coming from factories, construction sites spewing dust, old vehicles running on the roads, or stubble burning in the fields.
Mobile app will be in the hands of field officers
Under this system, officers will be given a special mobile app.
- Officials will visit the site.
- If anyone is found breaking the rules, the app will capture photo and video evidence (which will be geo-tagged, i.e. with location).
- The report will be uploaded to the system immediately.
- Sitting at CAQM headquarters, we will know where violations have occurred and immediate fines or action will be taken.
The system will automatically ‘red flag’ those who commit repeated mistakes, that is, they will be identified separately.
Command Centre: Overseeing the entire NCR from one room
The most spectacular part of this plan is its ‘Integrated Command and Control Centre’. Imagine a big room with a huge video wall (big screen). On that screen, videos of live inspection, satellite images of stubble burning, and AQI data of the city will all be visible together.
CAQM member secretary Tarun Pithode says that by getting real-time data, decisions will be taken faster and there will be no excuses.
What do experts say?
Environmental expert, Sunil Dahiya (founder of think tank Envirocatalyst) believes that this is a great step. “Creating a command center is welcome, but it will be successful only if there is transparency. The public should also know what action is being taken,” he said.
When will it start?
It is expected that this system will start fully functioning before the arrival of next winter. If this happens, then perhaps the people of Delhi will definitely get some relief from the smoky air.
