Pollution measurement boards installed at a cost of ₹12 lakh in Ahmedabad are mere showpieces

According to a report by Sandesh, modern LED display boards installed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to know the pollution status have currently become completely inactive. In the year 2017, the 'SAFAR' project was launched under the joint auspices of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and AMC. Under this project, 8 high-tech LED display boards were installed in the main and crowded areas of the city. Each display system cost approximately ₹10 to ₹12 lakh, while the total cost of the entire project was around one crore rupees.

However, these display boards have been shut since the year 2021 and have remained mere showpieces for the last 4 years. Currently, these boards are seen defiled with dust and bird droppings. No work is being done by the environment department or smart city department of AMC for the maintenance or software connectivity of these boards.

Due to these boards being shut, people going out for morning walks, asthma patients, and senior citizens are unable to know the levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in their area.

There is intense anger among local citizens and environmentalists regarding this matter. Despite public tax money being wasted in this manner, the AMC administration neither repairs these boards nor removes these useless structures from the road. Due to this negligence of the administration, citizens are getting no facility even after squandering lakhs of rupees.

According to Wikipedia, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949). The main objective of this institution is to manage civic infrastructure and administration in Ahmedabad.