As national capital struggles to breathe, commission tightens GRAP measures

As air pollution continues to choke Delhi, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has tightened the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR, advancing several pollution-control measures to earlier stages in the region.

The revised schedule, finalised on November 21 after consultations with stakeholders, shifts several curbs from higher stages to lower ones meaning restrictions will now be triggered sooner as the air quality index (AQI) worsens.

Under the revised plan, several measures that were earlier part of Stage II (‘Poor’ AQI 201-300) will now be triggered at Stage I.

Key actions shifted to Stage I include ensuring uninterrupted power supply to prevent the use of diesel generator sets, deploying extra personnel to manage traffic at bottleneck points, issuing pollution advisories through newspapers, television and radio, and expanding CNG and electric public transport fleets with more frequent services and differential fares to encourage off-peak travel.

Some interventions earlier classified under Stage III (‘Very Poor’ AQI 301-400) have now been moved to Stage II. These involve staggered working hours for government offices in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar. The Centre may also announce staggered timings for its offices across the region.

Likewise, restrictions previously reserved for Stage IV (‘Severe ’) will now apply under Stage III (‘Severe’ AQI 401-450). These include directing public, municipal and private offices to function with 50 per cent staff onsite, with the remaining working from home. Work-from-home provisions may also be adopted by Central Government Departments, if required.

The CAQM said all enforcement bodies across NCR had been instructed to put the revised measures into immediate effect.