Anurag Kumar
The India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology have predicted that unfavorable meteorological and climatic conditions will cause Delhi’s air quality to deteriorate and enter the “very poor” category on October 23 and 24. As a result, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has activated Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan. The entire National Capital Region will be equipped with these anti-pollution measures. In accordance with this, the air quality commission has requested that the NCR region’s authorities raise parking fees in an effort to deter private transportation and improve the service quality of CNG or electric buses and metro trains.
The steps for Stage 1 have already been put into place. Because of this, any private construction work or demolition projects that are larger than 500 square meters will need to be put on hold.
“All actions as envisaged under Stage-II be implemented in right earnest by all the agencies concerned in NCR with immediate effect, in addition to all Stage-I actions of GRAP already in force,” according to the order issued by the panel.
The GRAP classifies acts into the following four stages: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450).
As part of Stage 1, it is requested that authorities implement a prohibition on the use of coal and firewood in ‘tandoors’ found in hotels, restaurants, and other types of eating establishments. In addition to this, it requires taking action against polluting industrial units and thermal power plants that are located within 300 kilometers of Delhi.
In order to deter the use of private vehicles, Stage 2 consists of increasing parking fees and augmenting the fleet with CNG, electric, and metro trains.
In the cities of Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), including Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, and Noida Extension, stage 3 diesel vehicles up to BS-IV are prohibited. With the exception of critical government initiatives, construction and demolition activities are entirely halted during this phase. With the exception of essential services, light commercial vehicles registered outside of Delhi, trucks, and medium-to-heavy cargo vehicles are prohibited.
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In Stage 4, all construction activities are prohibited. It is permissible for state governments to institute online courses, close schools, and require private and public employees to work remotely.
Saturday marked an average of 248 for Delhi’s air quality index.
