As smog thickened, Haryana’s air quality network went dark

As air quality levels dipped across north India this week, Haryana’s pollution monitoring system faltered, leaving many parts of the state without real-time data.

Of the state’s 31 real-time air quality monitoring stations, only 18 were functional as of 2 pm on October 30, according to an analysis of data from one of the portals linked to the Central Pollution Control Board. The remaining 13 stations were not recording any data, many of them having gone offline between October 19 and October 30.

Twenty-nine of these 31 stations are under the Haryana State Pollution Control Board but most are maintained through a contract. Reached for comment, HSPCB scientist Sonica Sondhi said the problems at these stations were due to a “technical issue” and that they will be fully functional “within a few days”. Asked about facilities that have been defunct since January, she said they will resume work soon after a “tender”.

On Friday, seven of the 13 stations that were not recording data had resumed operations. Though some of those that were functional on Thursday went blank again on Friday. Besides, at least two key stations, in Gurugram’s TERI Gram and Faridabad’s Sector 16A, have been non-functional since January.

Many parts of Haryana have reportedly seen the AQI worsen over the last few days. In two districts, the AQI is now in the severe category.

Not the first time

These glitches are not new. In August, Newslaundry had reported on the same problem due to the non-renewal of a contract. But this month, it was October 19 when the first sign of disruption appeared when the air monitoring station in Faridabad, Sector-11 became non-functional. Then on October 23, Kaithal briefly went offline before resuming the next day. Gurugram’s Sector 51 stopped transmitting on October 24, followed by Faridabad’s New Industrial Town on October 25, and NISE Gwal Pahari on October 26. That same day, Fatehabad and Bhiwani also stopped recording.

Between October 25 and 27, six more stations – in Faridabad (NIT), Fatehabad, Hisar, Ambala, Palwal, and Gurugram Sector 51, NISE Gurugram – went offline. Jind and Panipat stopped recording on October 28, followed by Karnal and Manesar on October 29. Sirsa’s monitoring station fluctuated throughout the period – inactive on October 22, active between October 23 and 29, and non-functional again by October 30 along with Yamunagar.

On Thursday, there were signs of recovery. Stations in Bahadurgarh, Ballabgarh, Dharuhera, Jind, Kaithal, Manesar, Panipat, Rohtak, and Sonipat had resumed operation. Both Sirsa and Yamuna Nagar started working again on Friday. But glitches followed in many places.

For example, after being operational on October 30, Manesar and Dharuhera became non-operational again on Friday morning. Panchgaon, which was never defunct, became non-functional on Friday. The stations that were defunct as of Friday included Ambala, Sector 51 (Gurugram), TERI Gram (Gurugram), Sector 16A (Faridabad), and Sector 11 (Faridabad). 

Officials cite ‘technical issues’ amid glitches

When Newslaundry contacted regional officers of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), some attributed the disruptions to “technical issues”.

In Ambala, the monitoring station last recorded data on October 26, with an AQI of 125 (moderate), PM2.5 levels touching 302, and PM10 at 169. JP Singh, senior executive engineer, HSPCB Panchkula, said he was unaware the station was offline until contacted, adding that maintenance was the responsibility of Envea India, the contractor. Former regional officer Ajay Singh said he had recently been transferred and had no update.

The station in Bahadurgarh’s Arya Nagar was offline since October 28 but resumed operations on Thursday, pegging the AQI at 335. HSPCB additional chairman Shakti Singh did not respond to calls. The station in Bhiwani went offline on October 26 but restarted on Thursday, recording the AQI as 236. HSPCB scientist Sunil Sheoran did not respond to calls. In Dharuhera, the station went offline on October 26 but resumed on October 30 with the AQI at 396. It again became defunct on October 31. Phone calls to assistant environment engineer Harish Kumar remained unanswered.

In Faridabad, the Sector 30 station and NIT are operational. Sector 16A has been non-functional since January. Sector 11 has been non-operational since October 19. Regional officer Sandeep Singh attributed disruptions to internet connectivity issues and said data would be uploaded soon.

In Hisar, the station last uploaded data on October 26. However, it became operational on October 31. Regional officer Shakti Singh earlier said, “Monitoring stations are working, but data isn’t getting uploaded. A tender has been issued.”

In Jind, the monitor went offline on October 27 but was functional again on Thursday with the AQI at 345. Regional officer Ashwani Kumar did not respond to calls. The air monitor in Karnal stopped uploading data on October 28. Karnal assistant environment engineer Shailender Arora declined to comment.

Of Gurugram’s four stations, Vikas Sadan and NISE Gwal Pahari are operational. TERI Gram has been offline since January and Sector 51 last recorded data on October 23. Regional officer Vijay Choudhary said other stations were “under contract” and not operational, pending maintenance.

The air monitor in Panipat went offline on October 27 but started working on Thursday, with the AQI at 312. HSPCB chief environment engineer Bhupinder Singh refused to comment.

The air monitor in Rohtak was offline for “two to three days due to website issues,” according to HSPCB regional officer Dinesh Kumar, who said data was now visible online.

Dr Arun Kumar, Program Manager at Envirocatalysts, said the simultaneous outage of multiple air quality stations “during peak pollution hours” has masked the severity of the problem. “With much of Haryana’s monitoring network inactive, citizens were left data-blind during the most polluted days. Authorities must urgently address these technical and administrative lapses to ensure continuous monitoring and restore public trust in air quality data.”

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