No change in pollution curbs, AQI may improve slightly: Central body

CAQM said a similar review meeting will be held on Wednesday with Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the enforcement of Grap.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Adjoining Areas on Tuesday held a review meeting with the Delhi government and various agencies, and asked for an intensification of efforts to combat air pollution. The commission also stated that measures under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) were not being implemented at the moment as forecasts have predicted that Capital’s air quality will improve slightly in the coming days.

Smoggy conditions in New Delhi. (AFP)

The decision is significant as it was taken on a day that Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 424 as of 4pm, slipping into the ‘severe’ category.

Tuesday’s review meeting consisted of district magistrates, district collectors, officials from the environment department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and agencies such as the Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), among others. At the meeting, CAQM also directed that all measures under Grap Stage 3, which came into force from Saturday evening, are to be strictly implemented on the ground.

“The review meeting was held to check the enforcement of all pollution control measures on the ground, particularly those under Stage 3 of Grap. All departments under the Delhi government and enforcement agencies have been asked to intensify their efforts in lieu of the AQI touching severe and special focus needs to be on pollution hotspots,” said a CAQM official.

“Forecasts show an improvement in AQI due to local wind speed picking up. The wind direction will also change, reducing contribution from stubble intrusion,” the official said.

CAQM said a similar review meeting will be held on Wednesday with Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the enforcement of Grap.

Stage 4 of Grap can be implemented if the Capital’s AQI is expected to go beyond 450. Measures under it include stopping trucks from entering into Delhi, a ban on medium and heavy goods vehicles in Delhi, a ban on diesel four-wheelers in Delhi (except BS VI), a ban on all construction activities including linear projects such as highways and flyovers, and shutting down all industries not running on clean fuels.