Breathless capital

Piecemeal efforts will not help

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A day after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) notified stage four of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), there was little noticeable improvement in Delhi's air quality, with the air quality index, or AQI, exceeding 450 this week. In this regard, the Supreme Court rightly flagged the delay in implementing pollution preventive measures. GRAP-4 includes a ban on entry of truck traffic into Delhi, a strict ban on plying Delhi-registered BS-IV and below diesel-operated medium goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles, a temporary halt in construction and demolition activities, discontinuing physical classes in educational institutions, and an option to implement 50 per cent strength in offices with the rest to work from home. Obviously, none of these will solve the problem. With pollution levels remaining alarmingly high in the "severe plus" category, the thick grey haze has not only managed to choke the National Capital Region (NCR), but has also disrupted rail and airline operations.