Grap enforced only in Delhi-NCR: Report
Grap comprises a set of emergency-level measures enforced over a short period of time to mitigate rising air pollution in a region
Despite city-specific Graded Response Action Plans (Grap) having been created for 38 out of 39 non-attainment cities in the Indo-Gangetic Plains since 2019, only the state pollution control boards in Delhi-NCR are enforcing the plan, a report released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) on Wednesday said.
Cities are declared “non-attainment” if they do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter (PM10) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over a period of five years.
According to the report titled Status Assessment of Graded Response Action Plan Implementation in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, at least 26 of the 39 cities reported severe+ PM 2.5 levels and while 38 cities recorded severe PM 2.5 levels between October 1, 2022 and February 15, 2023, but Grap was not implemented in any city except those in Delhi-NCR.
PM 2.5 is fine, inhalable particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns. Construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, and smokestacks or fires, power plants, factories, and automobiles emit these pollutants into the air. The pollutants can enter the bloodstream via the respiratory system and cause asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.
“Apart from Delhi-NCR, there is no information available in the public domain as to any communication or direction to relevant stakeholders for implementing Grap measures-- indicating a clear failure to enforce existing regulations,” said the report.
Grap comprises a set of emergency-level measures enforced over a short period of time to mitigate rising air pollution in a region. It was first launched in 2017 for only the National Capital Region (NCR). However, on October 8, 2018, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in an order asked all 131 non-attainment cities to formulate their own Grap within six months.
Of the 131 non-attainment cities in the country, 39 are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Five of them are situated in the NCR. To be sure, the report only looks at the status of the Indo-Gangetic Plains region.
“While 38 out of the 39 cities in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, barring Kolkata, have a Grap on paper, the state pollution control boards of these states have failed to enforce the plan during the winter months, with no communications sent to the stakeholders on what possible mitigation steps can be taken. Based on the PM2.5 data, there are cities outside NCR which have higher pollution levels, but are still not enforcing Grap on the ground,” said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at CREA.
The report also shows a lack of pollution monitoring stations on the ground remains a concern. While the number of stations has increased from 59 across 23 cities in 2017-18 to 185 across 85 cities in 2023, only 23 cities have two or more stations installed, while the rest have only one.
