Capital chokes as air quality dips, GRAP-Stage II invoked

With Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) plunging into the ‘very poor’ category at 310 on Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced the immediate implementation of Stage-II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the National Capital Region (NCR). Out of the 36 monitoring stations in the city, 26 are in the red zone.

The decision follows an assessment by CAQM’s sub-committee based on air quality forecasts provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), which indicate that unfavourable meteorological conditions will likely keep the AQI in the ‘very poor’ range for the coming days.

The CAQM, in a statement, said, “The sub-committee for operationalisation of GRAP has taken the call to invoke the 11-point action plan as per Stage-II of revised GRAP in the entire NCR. All actions under Stage-II of GRAP will be implemented in right earnest by all agencies concerned, in addition to all Stage-I actions already in force.”

The Stage-II actions include daily mechanical or vacuum sweeping and water sprinkling on roads, dust control measures at construction sites, focused action in identified hotspots across NCR, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to discourage the use of diesel generators, regulating the use of diesel generators (DG sets) as per emissions control standards and synchronising traffic flow at congestion points among other measures.

Besides, the use of coal and firewood, including in tandoors at hotels, restaurants and open eateries, is banned.

The sub-committee has also included raising parking fee to discourage the use of private vehicles.

The commission urged citizens to adopt cleaner practices, recommending the use of public transport, avoiding the open burning of biomass and reducing vehicle usage. The sub-committee will, meanwhile, continuously monitor the situation and may escalate measures if air quality worsens.

Stage-II actions

• Daily mechanical or vacuum sweeping and water sprinkling on roads
• Dust control measures at construction sites
• Focused action in identified hotspots, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to discourage the use of diesel generators
• Regulating the use of diesel generators as per emissions control standards
• Synchronising traffic flow at congestion points