Graded pollution response plan altered after SC calls out Delhi authorities for inaction

New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday revised clauses under stages 3 and 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) after the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday called out Delhi government amid sinking air quality in the national capital region (NCR).

The SC asked the Delhi government the reason behind a delay in implementing the anti-pollution measures. “Why did we wait for the air quality index to cross 300?” the top court asked on Monday.

Delhi’s air quality depleted to the ‘severe’ category on 13 November for the first time this season, forcing the government to implement Stage 4 of the GRAP, the final stage and an 8-point anti-pollution plan, at 8 pm on Monday.

The air quality index (AQI) on Tuesday was 419, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). An AQI reading of 201-300 is categorized as ‘poor’, 301-400 as ‘very poor’, and 401-500 as ‘severe’.

In the amended GRAP stage 3, the CAQM said in a notification that the government of national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and NCR state governments will stagger timings for public offices and municipal bodies in NCTD and the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar. Under stage 4, it mandated prevention of trucks from entering Delhi, unless they are transporting necessities or rendering necessary services in the NCDT and the NCR districts. This will be implemented with immediate effect.

State governments may take a decision in this regard for other NCR districts, the notification read.

Meanwhile, an official directive issued by the Delhi government on Wednesday said all government offices functioning under state and Municipal Corporation of Delhi will operate with 50% of the staff strength and the remaining 50% staff will work from home.

“All Administrative Secretaries and Heads of Departments of GNCTD shall attend their respective offices and call upon relevant officers/officials as per requirement to ensure uninterrupted delivery of all essential and emergency public services. Hospitals and other public health related establishments, Fire Services, Prisons, Public Transport, Electricity, Water, Sanitation and related Municipal services and other essential services are exempted from this order,” the order read.

Every winter, Delhi and its neighbourhood are blanketed in toxic smog, worsened by the burning of leftover straw in farms in neighbouring states and the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali. Addionally, meteorological conditions prevailing during winter lead to a sharp plunge in air quality. In winter, the air near the soil surface is dense and cold. The warm air above blocks the cooler air, trapping it by forming an atmospheric lid. This is known as winter inversion which, coupled with low wind speed, prevents the dispersion of pollutants in the wider atmosphere, turning Delhi into a toxic gas chamber.

The CAQM notification advised citizens to wear a mask if they require to move outdoors under stage 4 of the GRAP.

Under stage 4 of GRAP, all construction activities, including highways, roads, flyovers, power lines, pipelines and other public projects are suspended and online teaching for the students of Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11 is suggested.

The top court will resume hearing a petition seeking enforcement of measures to curb air pollution in the national capital from CAQM on Friday.

Amid worsening air quality in Delhi, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist at the World Health Organization and principal adviser for the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme at the Union ministry of health and family welfare, told Mint in an interview that there is a need to adopt an airshed approach to analyze its air pollution crisis and set up an environment protection agency to enforce government rules with strict action.