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New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) The air quality crisis in Delhi has deepened, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to rapidly activate Phase-II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding areas.
The city’s daily average air quality index (AQI) by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reached 296 (‘poor’), which rose to 300 by 6 pm and touched 302 by 7 pm, putting it in the ‘very poor’ category.
This worrying trend led to an urgent meeting of the GRAP sub-committee of CAQM, which reviewed the forecasts of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), which predicted ‘very poor’ conditions (301-400) to persist in the coming days due to local emissions, stable winds and changes in temperature.
In a decisive step to curb worsening pollution, the sub-committee unanimously launched a 12-point action plan based on the existing Stage-I measures under Stage-II. Agencies like Pollution Control Boards of NCR states and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) have been entrusted with the task of strict enforcement. The plan begins with daily mechanical cleaning and water spraying on major roads, expediting machinery shifts and clearing hotspots and traffic corridors with suppressants before peak hours, ensuring proper waste disposal.
Stringent checks at construction sites, targeted hotspot interventions and uninterrupted power supply to limit the use of diesel generators (DG) are also in place. According to the directive issued on September 29, 2023, DG operations are limited to emergencies-hospitals, railways, metro, airports, sewage plants, water pumps, national security projects and telecom. Traffic flow will be smoothened with personnel at congested spots, while the media will broadcast pollution alerts and guidelines.
The higher parking charges are aimed at deterring private vehicles, and will boost public transport by additional CNG/electric buses and metro services with off-peak incentives. Resident welfare associations will have to provide electric heaters to staff to prevent biomass burning, and only electric, CNG, or BS-VI diesel inter-state buses can enter Delhi.
CAQM urges citizens to adopt public transport, avoid dusty construction and avoid burning waste in sync with the Citizens’ Charter for Phases I and II.
Full GRAP details are online on CAQM’s website, with plans to closely monitor the situation and regular reviews. This increase, driven by stubble burning and vehicle emissions, underlines the urgent need for regional cooperation to tackle winter haze.
–IANS
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