Govt to inspect steps taken to implement Grap in Delhi

The Delhi government has announced that ministers will personally inspect different districts in the city to check the implementation of pollution control measures. The decision was made due to dissatisfaction with the current implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). Ministers will begin their inspections on Thursday night.

The Delhi government on Thursday said its ministers will personally inspect different districts in the Capital to check the implementation of different Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) measures as it was “dissatisfied” with the way Grap was being carried out currently.

Thick layer of smog at Tilak Marg near Supreme court on Thursday. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)

Following a meeting on Thursday, environment minister Gopal Rai said each cabinet minister was assigned districts which they will personally monitor. Five cabinet ministers, including Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain will start their inspections at 11pm on Thursday, he said.

“We have been hearing for several days now that Grap stage 4 rules are not being adhered to strictly in Delhi, with construction activities and other operations also continuing unabated. A joint meeting with all ministers of the Delhi government was held to discuss how the departments could be actively involved. Since the level of activity required from officers to deal with pollution was not encouraging and to eliminate negligence, we have decided that all ministers will go to the ground themselves to monitor this,” Rai said after the meeting.

Rai said he will oversee the implementation in Delhi’s north and northeast districts. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot will cover the southwest and west districts, revenue minister Atishi will be responsible for the east and southeast districts, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj will oversee the south and New Delhi districts, food and civil supplies minister Imran Hussain will cover central and Shahdara districts, while social welfare minister Raj Kumar Anand will take charge of the northwest district.

“Thursday night’s inspections will cover border areas such as Singhu, Ghazipur, Gurugram, Shahdara, Bahadurgarh and the Kapashera,” Rai added.