AHMEDABAD: Despite a year-long mandate for private builders in Ahmedabad to install air quality monitoring sensors at construction sites, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has failed to apply similar standards to its own projects. Engineers overseeing AMC’s construction have not installed these sensors, citing a lack of provisions in existing tenders.
Currently, the AMC’s engineering department is tasked with building nine flyovers, underpasses, and railway overbridges, none of which feature air quality sensors. New civic projects, including ward offices, community halls, sewage treatment facilities, party plots, water tanks, and pumping stations, also lack these essential installations. The continuation of this oversight in newly released tenders underscores the disconnect between AMC’s public commitments and its internal practices.
Ironically, the AMC has enforced this requirement on private construction sites for over a year, aligning with its initiatives under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The civic body has been implementing awareness campaigns and pilot projects aimed at reducing dust and emissions. These include developing urban forests and oxygen parks, establishing mechanical smart parking systems, automating traffic regulation, and introducing CNG facilities in crematoriums along with CNG buses and electric vehicle charging stations powered by solar energy. A consultant agency hired by the AMC’s air quality management cell has overseen many of these measures, with its term recently extended by another year.
Despite internal shortcomings, the AMC actively pursues various pollution-control initiatives, demonstrating measurable success. It employs a robust monitoring system, integrating CAAQMS and manual stations to pinpoint pollution hotspots, helping to inform mitigation plans based on data collected.
The city is also making strides in participating in a central government initiative, regularly uploading vital information such as SVS, grant expenditures, utilization certificates, and project implementation plans to the PRANA portal.
In conjunction with these technical and administrative strategies, a strong emphasis is placed on public engagement and internal staff training. Workshops are underway to educate personnel on data uploading procedures, and public awareness programs are being conducted throughout the city. Additionally, new software is in development to streamline the process for addressing air quality-related complaints.
A recent air quality index (AQI) survey by the Gujarat Environment Management Institute (GEMI) indicated a 40% improvement in Ahmedabad’s air quality, which earned the city an incentive grant of Rs 120.04 crore from the Centre for the fiscal year 2022–23. As a result, the consultant agency’s term was again extended.
AMC collects fees for air sensors, but installations remain delayed
“According to regulations introduced in August 2023, any construction project exceeding 10,000 square meters must install air quality sensors. These devices are intended to alert AMC officials in the event of pollution spikes. They connect to an online monitoring system that tracks air quality in real time and should trigger fines for repeated violations. The concept is straightforward: monitor, warn, penalise. However, in the past year, not one builder has faced fines based on collected data, primarily because the infrastructure to generate that data was not installed at several sites,” said a source who requested anonymity.
Moving forward, the AMC plans to install air quality monitoring sensors at every construction site, while collecting fees from builders during construction plan approvals. The assigned agency will be responsible for the sensor installations. So far, 100 sensors have been installed across the city. However, internal issues and poor execution have stalled AMC’s plans.
“While three agencies were contracted for installation and maintenance, only one consistently performs the required tasks. The others fall short in regular maintenance. Though they collect fees at the time of plan approval, they fail to install the sensors on schedule,” the spokesperson noted. Consequently, AMC faces a backlog of construction sites lacking adequate monitoring.
