Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai slammed Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) Chairman Ashwani Kumar on closure of  smog tower, calling it contempt of the Supreme Court. The Environment Minister directed the Principal Secretary (Environment & Forest & Wildlife) to release the salaries of workers within 24 hours, making Smog Towers at Connaught Place operational. Issues pertaining to non-payment of salaries of workers stationed at Smong towers, Rai expressed his displeasure, in a written communication addressed to the Principal Secretary (E&F).

Taking a dig at the Arvind Kejriwal government,  Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded that the amount should be recovered from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues.  Bidhuri said that Delhi could not get clean air even for a single day in the last two and a half months.

Rai issued directions to ensure that all payments are made on time in the near future, causing no interruptions. He directed the DPCC Chairman to submit a detailed report within 48 hours (i.e. latest by 10.01.2024) addressing important aspects related to this shocking dereliction of duties by the DPCC.

Issuing directions to the Principal Secretary (E&F), the minister stated, “This is a very serious matter and immediate steps will be taken to release the pending payment and other related issues, if any, as per the MOU, within 24 hours so that to make Smog Tower operational without any further delay. Further, it must also be ensured in future that all payments be made in a timely manner strictly as per the MOU, to keep the Smog Tower running without any interruption.”

The minister directed that the DPCC Chairman submit a detailed report to the within 48 hours (i.e. latest by 10.01.2024) addressing the following important aspects related to this shocking dereliction of duties by DPCC like Details of payments released by DPCC to project partners i.e. (NBCC and TATA projects) subsequent to directions of the Supreme Court in November 2023, details of payments that are due to project partners as of 31.12.2023 and payments that have been released by the DPCC against the same, details of the first instance that the DPCC Chairman first became aware of the issue of non-payment of salaries to workers at CP Smog Tower and what the actions taken by the DPCC Chairman since then, the DPCC Chairman to further investigate to identify the officers responsible for causing a delay in the release of payment for the project as per MOU terms and recommend disciplinary action to be initiated against them.

“Given the gravity and urgency of the matter, a detailed report addressing the points raised above be submitted to the undersigned within 48 hours i.e. latest by 10th January,” he added.

Rai mentioned, “It has come to my notice through various newspapers that work on Smog Tower has again been stopped by the workers due to non-payment of salaries for the last two months. This is a shocking dereliction of duties by DPCC that was directed by the Supreme Court as recently as November 2023 to ensure the continued operation of the Smog Tower”.

 “Kejriwal inaugurated this smog tower with much fanfare in 2021 and crores of rupees were also spent on the advertisement of this smog tower built at the cost of Rs 23 crores.

 Now the situation is such that its employees themselves have locked this tower. The Delhi government makes such aerial plans only for publicity and without following the rules and regulations. This tower was also commissioned without permission or recommendation.

 Even the Delhi Government's Pollution Committee never recommended it but expressed doubts over its success. The result of the report of IIT Mumbai in this regard is that it is not effective in an area of more than 20 meters,” Bidhuri said in a press statement.