CAQM pulls up officers over ‘gaps’ in Grap implementation

In a statement, CAQM said it had reviewed the performance of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and state pollution control boards in NCR during the implementation of stages 3 and 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region (CAQM) on Monday flagged “serious deficiencies and wide gaps” in the implementation of pollution control measures by Delhi and neighbouring NCR states, and issued instructions to the pollution boards to identify officers responsible for “non-compliance” and initiate suitable action against them.

CAQ issued instructions to the pollution boards to identify officers responsible for “non-compliance (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

In a statement, CAQM said it had reviewed the performance of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and state pollution control boards in NCR during the implementation of stages 3 and 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The assessment was based on daily monitoring carried out by the GRAP monitoring control room set up by the commission, it said.

“The review of actions taken during GRAP stage 3 and 4 reveals serious deficiencies and wide gaps in implementation, with shortfalls ranging from 7% to 99.6% across key mandated actions,” the statement read. It added that the pendency of unresolved public complaints remained alarmingly high – ranging from 47% to 100% – pointing to weak enforcement and grievance redressal mechanisms.

According to CAQM data, physical inspections of construction and demolition sites during stage-3 of GRAP showed major lapses across states. “Average shortfall of 87% in Delhi, 99.6% in Haryana (NCR), 84% in Rajasthan (NCR) and 96% in Uttar Pradesh (NCR)” was recorded against prescribed requirements, the statement said. Mechanical road sweeping also fell well below targets, with gaps of 69% in Delhi and Haryana and 31% in Rajasthan, while Uttar Pradesh marginally exceeded requirements.

The picture remained grim during stage-4 as well. CAQM said inspection of construction sites of plot area 500 square metres and above continued to remain critically low with an average gap of 87% in Delhi and 100% in Haryana. Mechanical sweeping again lagged, with gaps of 70% in Delhi and 68% in Haryana, even as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh performed better on some parameters.

CAQM said that the handling of citizen complaints flagged on social media during peak pollution days was “equally worrying”. During Stage-III, Delhi resolved just 53% of 115 complaints, while Haryana resolved 43% of 79 complaints. Uttar Pradesh cleared only 29% of 125 complaints received during the same period. “Rajasthan (NCR) received one complaint which stood unresolved,” the commission noted.

The situation worsened during Stage-4, with Delhi resolving only 32% of complaints and Haryana just 29%, CAQM said.

A CAQM official said the issue of delayed complaint redressal has been taken up with the chief secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. “The Commission has emphasised the importance of timely redressal of citizen grievances” and directed agencies to clear long-pending cases without delay,” the official said.

On the same day, data shared by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on waste burning showed it had imposed a total of 310 fines for garbage burning from January 1 to 19 — totalling ₹1,65,500.

CAQM added that 3,600 garbage burning sites have also been inspected.

MCD said that so far it has filed 0 FIRs against garbage burning cases. Out of the total fine amount imposed, only ₹16,500 has been realized so far.

An MCD official stated that the corporation was carrying out multiple activities to reduce pollution in the city. “Our main effort is ensuring that construction is stopped in the city, for private and government projects. To my knowledge, construction is not going on anywhere in the city, as we have been enforcing the curbs since GRAP-4 was imposed. Aside from this, we have been carrying out water sprinkling and restricting open biomass burning as well,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.