Delhi pollution body hires 50 environmental engineers, to train them via 3-week module

The short-staffed Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) hired 50 environmental engineers last month to fill up a large chunk of its vacant posts. About 10% of its 343 sanctioned posts are vacant.Each engineer will undergo a three-week training module developed by IIT Delhi on over 50 topics, including how to source apportionment data to combat air pollution, atmospheric chemistry and air pollution modelling, toxic and hazardous pollutants and their sources, climate change and how to manage the different kind of wastes being generated in Delhi.

Officials of DPCC said this training module, which HT has had a look at, will be the guiding tool for all future recruitments for technical positions, with particular focus on air pollution, for which 20 one-hour sessions will be held. The other sessions will focus on electric waste, septic tanks, reviving water bodies, water quality management, plastic waste management and noise pollution, among other key areas.

“Those hired will be trained regarding the existing problems, and the technological and technical innovations that can be utilised for Delhi. For instance, we will focus on emission inventories for air pollution sources, air pollution source apportionment through measuring and modelling, atmospheric dispersion of pollutants and air quality forecasting,” said a senior DPCC official, on condition of anonymity.

Of the DPCC’s 343 posts, nearly 50% are technical posts. The official said the remaining staff, which include those in clerical positions,is currently handling a majority of the work.

“We needed technical expertise, but before deploying the new employees in different key areas, we will provide them with detailed knowledge, which will help them plan for next winter too,” said the official, adding the new employees will be deployed in the green war room, and be required to manage and analyse data from the web portal created to oversee construction and demolition sites, analyse data from the Green Delhi app, while also focusing on innovations and studies.

Professor Sagnik Dey, associate professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT-Delhi, said while the current module includes over 50 topics, a few more are currently being added, based on the DPCC’s request. “These are not all air-pollution related, but a good chunk is centred on pollution. They are also very technical and will be explaining technologies and studies that can be used to solve the air pollution problem,” said Dey, who has designed the training module along with fellow IIT professors Dilip Ganguly and RK Kunchala.

“We are still deciding whether to do it online or in-person. The entire module will take around three weeks,” he said.

The Delhi government also inducted 28 “green fellows” last month to fill vacant seats in the environment and forest departments. The fellows -- three specialists, 10 fellows and 15 associate fellows – have joined the government departments for a period of four years as part of a Green Youth Fellowship under the Green Delhi mission.