Among the most polluted cities in the world, Delhi on Saturday began its action plan to combat air pollution after the national capital’s air quality stooped down to the ‘poor’ category. In fact, certain parts of Delhi also recorded an AQI in the above 300 range, which is labelled as ‘severe’.
The Centre’s Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to check the state’s air pollution during winters came into effect with the implementation of first stage of the plan, a NDTV report said. Vehicles that visibly cause pollution will receive heavy fine impositions, while trucks not destined for Delhi will be diverted via eastern or western peripherals.
The first stage of the plans requires the suspension of demolition projects and private construction works of any plot that equals to or exceeds the size of 500 sqm and is not registered under the state government’s portal for remote monitoring of dust mitigation measures. Stage one involves the use of anti-smog guns at construction and demolition sites.
The Centre’s air quality panel on Friday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to enforce a ban on coal usage in hotels and restaurants, and to take punitive measures against polluting industries and thermal power plants as the air quality in Delhi plunged into the ‘poor’ category.
The stage 1 of the action plan also imposes a ban on ‘burning activities’ at landfill sites.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for proactively implementing GRAP, reported a “sudden decline” in air quality parameters in the region over the last 24 hours, with Delhi’s AQI reaching 212 (in the ‘poor’ category).
“It is essential to invoke Stage-I of GRAP immediately throughout the entire NCR to take steps to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region,” the commission said in a statement.
Earlier in September, the Delhi government also imposed a complete ban on the sale, purchase, and use of all types of firecrackers, including green crackers citing air pollution in the city. State Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that this move is a part of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s ‘winter action plan’, which was announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last week.
The air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas starts worsening in October due to unfavourable meteorological factors such as low temperatures and wind speed, which do not allow dispersion of pollutants.
This is the third time that the Delhi government has imposed a complete firecrackers in the city. The ban has been consistently imposed for the past two years.
The GRAP consists of four stages, of which the first stage is currently being implemented. The stages of GRAP are categorized into four stages: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300), Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400), Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450), and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI > 450).
(With inputs from PTI)
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