Delhi air pollution: 2.6 lakh vehicles penalised, ₹260 crore collected in fines, report says

The data is from the 50 days (October 16-December 5) of the four stages of GRAP.

Authorities' crackdown on those violating air pollution norms in Delhi has reportedly led to more than 2.6 lakh vehicles being penalised for lacking Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC) and the collection of over ₹260 crore in fines in only 50 days.

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The crackdown was initiated under the Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP.

Between October 16 and December 6, across all the four stages of GRAP, the Delhi government's Environment Department issued as many as 2,60,258 challans.

Here's the breakdown:

Stage 1 (October 16-22): 12,756 challans

Stage 2 (October 22-November 14): 1,11,235

Stage 3 (November 15-17): 13,938

Stage 4 (November 18-December 5): 114,089

Meanwhile, the number of challans issued since December 5, when the national capital reverted to Stage 2, which is in effect, stood at 8,240, as per the official data.

A motorist without a pollution certificate is fined ₹10,000.

On November 17, Delhi's air quality touched 450, entering the “severe plus” category for the first time in the year.

In response, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed anti-pollution measures under Stage 4, the strictest level of action under GRAP.

On the morning of November 18, when Stage 4 curbs kicked in, the city's AQI was recorded at 494, its second-worst air quality in six years.

The spike triggered a complete ban on non-essential trucks from entering Delhi, with exemptions for vehicles carrying essential goods or using clean fuel, including LNG, CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electric vehicles. Non-essential light commercial vehicles from outside the city were also banned, except EVs and CNG/BS-VI diesel vehicles.

GRAP, first implemented in 2017, is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its neighbouring districts, depending upon the severity of the situation.

(With PTI inputs)