Keep AQI under 200, CPCB tells HSPCB

Gurugram The Central Pollution Control Board has instructed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to ensure that the air quality does not dip below the

Gurugram The Central Pollution Control Board has instructed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to ensure that the air quality does not dip below the ‘poor’ category of the Air Quality Index (AQI) before the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on October 15.

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The direction was issued on the backdrop of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a dip in temperature and wind speed over the next two weeks.

An AQI score between 100 and 200 implies ‘moderate’ air quality, while a score between 200 and 300 implies ‘poor’ quality air. So far this month, air quality in the city has remained in the ‘satisfactory’ category of the CPCB’s AQI bulletin (with a score of between 50 to 100).

However, the air quality in September dipped over the AQI’s 100 mark on two days, on September 10 and September 11, and is expected to dip again with the onset of winter.

A senior CPCB official said, “The Haryana board was told this week to step up vigilance on waste burning, as we have received a high number of these complaints from the region. In addition, water sprinkling, road sweeping and checking vehicles for PUC clearances are some activities that need to be implemented urgently.”

Emphasizing the need for immediate action against waste burning in the state’s NCR districts, Lal said, “Waste burning is one of the major issues reported from Haryana. Burning of plastic and rubber waste often severely affect air quality. The state board, therefore, needs to ensure a check over this particular violation so that air pollution in Delhi-NCR doesn’t go up. Since the temperature will now go down, the board has to take all possible steps, even before the implementation of GRAP (that starts on October 15).”

Officials of the HSPCB did not respond to requests for comment.