Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Delhi Air Continues To Remain In Very Poor Category

The air quality in the national capital continued to remain ‘very poor’ on Monday morning, with an AQI of 310.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India), the air quality index in Delhi was recorded at 310 at 8:30 am on Monday, categorising it as ‘very poor.’

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data recorded at 7:00 am on Monday, the air quality index at Anand Vihar was recorded at 361; it was 368 at Alipur; Ashok Vihar at 342; ITO, Delhi at 318; and at RK Puram, it was recorded at 344, all falling into the ‘very poor’ category.

A day after restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) – 4 were lifted in Delhi following improvement in the air quality, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday urged people to be careful and continue to follow the rules as stages 1, 2, and 3 of GRAP are still in place to tackle air pollution in the national capital.

Gopal Rai said, “Though there has been a constant improvement in air quality, people still need to be aware in order to maintain this improvement.”

“There has been constant improvement in pollution levels over the last two days. The AQI as of today has reached 290. I want to request the people of Delhi and North India to remain vigilant. Although there has been improvement in pollution, we still need to be cautious. Before Diwali, the AQI had reached 215, but the carelessness that followed led to an increase in the AQI after Diwali,” he said on Sunday.

With an improvement in the air quality in Delhi, the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) on Saturday revoked the restrictions that were imposed under GRAP 4, permitting trucks and buses except for BS-3 and BS-4 petrol and diesel vehicles to enter the city and lifting the ban on ongoing construction activities.

Gopal Rai emphasised that all three phases of GRAP 1, GRAP 2 and GRAP 3 are still to be implemented in Delhi. Once there is further improvement in pollution levels, the withdrawal of these restrictions will also be considered, he added.

Speaking about the restrictions related to vehicles, Gopal Rai said, “The ban on the entry of trucks has been revoked but the ban is still in place on the BS3 petrol vehicles and BS4 diesel vehicles. So the ban has been revoked only on trucks or vehicles that are above BS 4.”

He also mentioned that the linear projects, including Raj Marg, roads, flyovers, foot-over bridges and other similar projects that were stopped under GRAP 4, have been granted permission to resume their work now.

Listing out the areas where construction work can be carried out, Gopal Rai mentioned railway, metro, station projects, airports, international bus terminals, procedures related to national security, projects of national importance, hospitals, linear projects, and cleanliness projects.

“The activities that are still prohibited include boring and digging, structural construction, demolition and loading or unloading of construction material at project sites,” he said.

Further enlisting the prohibited activities, he mentioned vehicles on unmetalled roads, benching plant operation, cutting and work related to tiles and other flooring material cutting and mining activities.

“We have to ensure that we do not get confused between GRAP 4 and GRAP 3 restrictions, as GRAP-4 restrictions have been removed but GRAP 3 restrictions are still in place,” Rai said.

Earlier on Thursday, Rai said that a 6-member special task force has been formed under the leadership of the Environment Special Secretary for proper implementation and monitoring of GRAP rules. (ANI)

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Delhi AQI

Delhi AQI Better Since Afternoon, Likely To Improve Further: Panel

As the Delhi air turned severe, leading to a temporary closure of schools and scores gasping for breath, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital clocked 468 on Friday, according to the 4 pm AQI bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The sub-committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), for the operationalisation of GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan), took due cognisance of the declining air quality in the national capital and the weather forecast made available by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) for the next few days.

The sub-committee noted that the average AQI in the national capital showed a declining trend since the afternoon after the enforcement of the GRAP measures.

At 12 noon, the average AQI of Delhi clocked 475 which improved to 468 at 4 pm and further to 456 at 5 pm on Friday.

The forecast from IITM and IMD also indicated a further improvement in the AQI over the next few days.

The sub-committee noted further that mitigation measures under GRAP Stage-III were implemented on Thursday late evening and it was reasonable that it would take more time for its impact to be felt on the average AQI.

The actions are expected to yield positive results over the next few days, it noted.

After comprehensively reviewing the overall air quality scenario and relevant aspects, the sub-committee unanimously decided to track the situation for a day or more before invoking more stringent disruptive actions under Stage-IV of GRAP.

The ongoing actions implemented under Stage-I, Stage-II and Stage-III of GRAP shall continue for the present, the sub-committee stated, adding that it was keeping a close watch on the situation for further action.

Along with Delhi, the air quality in cities in the NCR including Bhiwandi, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Hisar, Jind, Noida, Rohtak, and Sonipat were also recorded in the ‘Severe’ category.

Stage III of the GRAP is implemented when the AQI hits severe in the range of 401-450. As part of its response to combat pollution, the government can impose strict restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in certain areas and may suspend physical classes in schools for primary-grade children up to Class 5.

The Delhi government has suspended classes in primary schools as the air quality in the national capital turned severe. (ANI)

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