Delhi air nears 'severe' level; CAQM delays Stage 3 steps

For a second consecutive day on Sunday, Delhi's air quality index jumped sharply - it reached 366 at 4pm - as a thick, toxic haze blanketed the Capital through the day. Yet the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) failed to trigger stricter pollution controls under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) mandated by the Supreme Court.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

Last year, in December, the Supreme Court directed the air regulatory body set up for Delhi-NCR to alter its threshold at which Grap is implemented. The court on December 5 directed the CAQM to implement Stage 3, or 'severe' category measures, once the AQI becomes 350 or more, instead of the original 400. The CAQM was also asked to invoke Stage 4, or measures under the 'severe-plus' category, at an AQI of 400 or more — 50 points lower than the defined threshold of 450. It had also suggested the CAQM to include some additional measures of GRAP-3 in Stage 2 curbs.

Measures under Stage 3 include a ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar, blanket curbs on private construction and demolitions, and restrictions on the use of stone crushers, mining and associated activities. Schools up to Class 5 in Delhi-NCR are also required to shift to “hybrid” lessons.

On Sunday, the 24-hour rolling average AQI touched a peak of 388 (very poor) at 10 am, while the 4pm reading was 366, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin.

However, in place currently is only Stage 2 of Grap, which came into force on October 19 when the AQI went beyond the 300-mark. Since then, the AQI has breached the 350-mark four times, according to data analysed by HT.