Delhi-NCR pollution: Restrictions under GRAP IV shifted to GRAP III as Delhi’s AQI remains ‘very poor’

Delhi, India’s national capital, is facing increasing air pollution levels. The measures below that are currently in GRAP Stage III would be taken under GRAP Stage II.

Delhi, India’s national capital, is facing increasing air pollution levels. Increased pollution is not an environmental concern, but a health concern for residents, which leads to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and increased premature mortality risk. In view of the rising pollution, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) NCR and Adjoining Areas has revised the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the entire NCR, directed to impose the measures for the ‘Severe’ AQI category under GRAP Stage IV to be taken under GRAP Stage III, a press release said.

Why are GRAP IV measures being imposed under GRAP III this time?

In a press statement by CAQM, measures under GRAP IV will now be under GRAP III and it is now for the NCR State Governments/GNCTD to decide if public, municipal, and private offices can be run at 50 per cent strength while the remaining staff continue to work from home.

What are the new mesures?

As per the data from the Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi’s air quality persisted in the ‘very poor’ category, recording an average AQI of 359 on Saturday morning. The Central Government may decide to allow employees in central government offices to work from home. Meanwhile, directing a change in the schedule of GRAP, the measures currently under GRAP Stage II will be taken under GRAP Stage I.

Under Stage I of GRAP, the government will ensure an uninterrupted power supply, in order to reduce reliance on alternate power-generating sets/Equipment, sync traffic movement, and deploy adequate personnel at intersections/congestion locations for smooth traffic flow. Other measures include alerts in newspapers/TV/ radio to inform the public of any advisories on air pollution levels, and will advise dos and don’ts to reduce some activities that may cause pollution.

Furthermore, the press release stated that augment public transport services through CNG/electric buses and metro services by inducting additional fleet and increasing the frequency of service. Introduce differential rates to encourage off-peak travel.

The measures below that are currently in GRAP Stage III would be taken under GRAP Stage II. In the new GRAP II, GNCTD and NCR State Governments will stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

State Governments may decide to stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies in other areas of NCR. Central Government may decide on the staggering of timings of Central Government offices in Delhi-NCR, the release added.

What is GRAP?

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is an emergency response mechanism for NCR, based on Daily Average AQI levels in Delhi, which brings together multiple stakeholders, implementing agencies and authorities to respond to situations of adverse air quality scenarios in Delhi-NCR; GRAP has been formulated after careful consideration of scientific data, stakeholder inputs, expert recommendations along with field experience and learnings in the past years.