Written by Hina RohtakiChandigarh | November 17, 2025 12:41 PM IST 3 min readChandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) issued a notice to the firm for the removal of the air purifier within three months. (File)India’s tallest air purifier at Transport Chowk in the city is all set to be dismantled, with the Chandigarh Administration disconnecting power to the device and directing the firm to dismantle the structure immediately, as a three-month deadline given to them ended in October.Before terminating the contract with the firm, Pious Air Private Limited, which installed the air purifier in 2021 and had to operate and maintain it for five years, the Chandigarh Administration got a third-party assessment of the air purifier done. National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) found that the air purifier covers a very limited area.Following this, the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) issued a notice to the firm for the removal of the air purifier within three months. The firm, however, sought time and allowances from the UT Administration.“We have disconnected the power supply and directed the firm to remove the structure with immediate effect. Two studies were conducted, and it was found that the air purifier was not delivering the results as claimed. So, it’s of no use, and thus, we took the decision,” CPCC Member Secretary Saurabh Kumar told The Indian Express.In July, the CPCC governing body had decided to terminate the contract with the firm.The firm bore the cost of the 24-metre-tall tower on its own, but the UT Administration would supply electricity to operate the device and pay approximately Rs 25,000 monthly, around Rs 3 lakh annually, power bill for the tower, according to an official.The company had claimed that the air purifier tower would clean air in a radius of 500 metres. While operating for 18 hours a day, it was stated that the tower would reduce the ambient temperature by a few degrees, and cut pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxides, and sulphur dioxide by up to 50 per cent.Story continues below this adThe air purifier tower was a pilot project of the Chandigarh administration, which had then decided to install similar air purifier towers at six major intersections in the city. However, the failure of the pilot project came as a setback to the decision.“Transport Chowk was chosen for the pilot project as it witnesses heavy vehicular traffic, and thus, heavy vehicular emissions, but it never purified the air as claimed by the firm,” a UT official said.Hina Rohtaki is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express, Chandigarh. She covers Chandigarh administration and other cross beats. In this field for over a decade now, she has also received the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award by the President of India in January 2020. She tweets @HinaRohtaki ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd