Delhi's artificial rain plan remains stuck in barrage of letters

The Delhi government is still waiting for a detailed proposal from IIT Kanpur regarding a pilot project for artificial rain in the city, ToI reported on November 20. The government had reached out to the institute in October, seeking a solution to combat Delhi's persistent pollution problem, the report (by Kushagra Dixit) said citing an RTI response.

The environment department, in response to an RTI query filed by activist Amit Gupta, confirmed that a formal request was sent to IIT Kanpur's Department of Computer Science and Engineering on October 7, 2024. However, they haven't received a response yet.

IIT Kanpur acknowledged receiving the proposal but clarified that a similar one was sent to the Delhi government last year. Professor Manindra Agrawal, IIT Kanpur director, said:


"Yes, a detailed proposal was sought, but we communicated that last year already.... We are not going to send it again. Certain permissions are required for cloud seeding to go ahead, and it seems that there is no movement on that side. Last year, we sent everything around Diwali. We have our setups ready."

Delhi's environment minister, Gopal Rai, has been pushing for the artificial rain project, seeing it as an emergency measure to control pollution levels, especially during critical periods. He has written to the Union environment minister multiple times since August, requesting a meeting and highlighting the need for clearances from various agencies for cloud seeding.

However, sources within the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that while the ministry had consulted relevant bodies like IITM, IMD, and CAQM on the matter, they are awaiting a detailed proposal from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) regarding concerns over chemicals used in cloud seeding and their potential effects.