Firm told to dismantle Transport Chowk air purification tower in Chandigarh

After more than four years of its installation, India’s tallest air purification tower at the Transport Chowk, Sector 26, will soon be dismantled.

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) has directed the firm that had installed the tower to remove it at the earliest. The CPCC had earlier issued a three-month notice to the firm, but the company had sought some more time to submit its reply. During a recent meeting, the CPCC had decided not to extend time of the notice and directed the company to remove the tower at the earliest, as the notice period had already ended.

The UT Administration had terminated the pilot project of this 24-m tall tower. The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the governing body of the CPCC.

The Administration had got a third-party assessment of the purifier done. During the assessment, the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research found that the air purifier was being beneficial in a very limited area. The cost of installing it was borne by the company, but the Administration was bearing the cost of the electricity used to run it.

On the basis of the pilot project, similar air purifier towers were to be installed at six major intersections in the city. Now, such towers will not be installed at other places as well.

Installed in September 2021, it was claimed that the tower will clean the air in a radius of about 500m and will also reduce the temperature by a few degrees. By working for 18 hours every day, it was stated that it would reduce pollutants like PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide from the surrounding air by 50%.

The tower functions by drawing in polluted air, spraying it with mist in chamber, and then releasing the purified air. The tower was inaugurated on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on September 7, 2021.

Treated as a pilot project, five spots were shortlisted to install it, but the Transport Chowk was chosen due to the highest volume of traffic and vehicular emissions at this junction.

Air pollution has increased continuously in Chandigarh since 2021. Monitoring done under the National Clean Air Programme revealed that the level of particulate matter 10 was 116-116 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022-23 and 2023-24, while it reached 121 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024-25. In the last two-three years, especially in winter, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has been worse.