The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has decided to set up continuous air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in seven places across the state including the capital city. These systems will be providing real-time monitoring of the pollution level. Though the OSPCB had initially planned to install these in the eight most polluted districts, Jajpur has been dropped at this point.
In a meeting of the OSPCB, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy approved the projects. For the time being, the CAAQMS will be set up in the districts of Cuttack, Balasore, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Angul, and Bhubaneswar. Presently, two CAAQMS are operating at Talcher and Ib-Valley in Brajrajnagar.
The Chief Secretary has asked the OSPCB to complete the work in the current financial year. It has been decided to put an SOP in place for rigorous validation and analysis of the large volume of raw data which will be generated from these stations for public use. There will also be a web-based application that would show where the pollution level was on the rise. The portal would contain updated data about air and water quality in different areas of the state for public information and use.
Meanwhile, another proposal regarding the development of a geo-database for environmental mapping was also approved.