GRAP-III imposed, pollution curbs tightened in Delhi as AQI breaches 400-mark

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s Sameer app showed that at 7 am on Tuesday, 34 of the city’s 39 active stations recorded ‘severe’ AQI levels, several of them at the higher end of the range. Bawana recorded an AQI of 462, Wazirpur 460, and both Mundka and Punjabi Bagh 452.

An AQI between 51 and 100 is classified as ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 as ‘poor’, 301 to 400 as ‘very poor’, and above 400 as ‘severe’.

GRAP-III implemented in Delhi: What’s allowed and what’s not?

• Non-essential construction and demolition activities are to be completely banned. This includes work such as earth excavation, piling, laying of sewer lines and electric cables through open trench systems, and the operation of Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) batching plants.
• All private BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel LMVs (four-wheelers) in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Noida are banned.
• Other curbs include a ban on non-essential diesel-run BS-IV medium goods vehicles and on BS-IV and lower diesel light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi, except those transporting essential goods or providing essential services.
• Under this stage, private companies are advised to adopt work-from-home or hybrid arrangements to help reduce vehicle emissions.
• Schools up to Class 5 are asked to remain closed, and classes are shifted online.
• Under this stage, public projects that are considered essential, including railways, metro construction, airports, defence, sanitation, and healthcare, are exempt from the ban and allowed to continue. However, strict dust and waste management guidelines have to be followed.