As pollution levels improve in Delhi, Grap stage-3 curbs revoked

The other measures lifted under stage-3 of GRAP included a prevailing ban on private construction work and ban on mining and stone crushers in NCR.

Private four wheelers that are BS-III petrol or BS-IV diesel are now allowed to ply in Delhi and parts of National Capital Region (NCR) again, after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR lifted all restrictions under stage-3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Monday. Citing an improvement in air quality due to meteorological conditions becoming favourable in the last 24 hours, CAQM said forecasts showed Delhi’s air is unlikely to touch “severe” in the coming days and that the restrictions were “disruptive” in nature, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.

Commuters out on a cold and Foggy morning amid rising air pollution levels at Ghazipur area in New Delhi on Saturday. (HT Photo/Sakib Ali)

The other measures lifted under stage-3 of GRAP included a prevailing ban on private construction work and ban on mining and stone crushers in NCR.

“The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi has been progressively improving and has been recorded at 346 at 4pm, which is about 55 AQI points below the threshold for invoking the GRAP Stage-3 actions (Delhi AQI 401-450), and there is a likelihood of sustaining the improvement in AQI. The forecast by IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology also does not indicate any further deterioration, and there is a likelihood of the AQI improving while remaining in “very poor” or “poor” category in the next few days,” said CAQM in a statement on Monday.

“Keeping in view the disruptive nature of restrictions under Stage-3 of GRAP impacting a large number of stakeholders and public, as well as considering the significant improvement in the average AQI of Delhi-NCR, the GRAP sub-committee unanimously decided to revoke Stage-III of GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect,” the statement added.