As Delhi-NCR AQI Improves, Curbs Imposed Under Stage II of GRAP Lifted

All actions under stage-I of GRAP shall, however, remain invoked and will continue to be implemented, said the Commission for Air Quality Management.

New Delhi: Pollution control authorities have revoked the curbs enforced in Delhi-NCR under stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan with immediate effect in view of the significant improvement in the air quality in the last few days, officials said on Wednesday.

Since January 30, Delhi's overall air quality has significantly improved from 207 ('poor') on that day to 164 ('moderate') clocked on Wednesday according to the 4 pm AQI bulletin provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said in a statement.

"Keeping in view this trend of improvement in the overall AQI of Delhi-NCR, the GRAP sub-committee accordingly decided to revoke actions under stage II of GRAP ('very poor' AQI) in the entire NCR with immediate effect," it said.

All actions under stage-I of GRAP shall, however, remain invoked and be implemented, monitored and reviewed by all agencies concerned in the entire NCR to ensure that the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR does not deteriorate further in the coming days, the CAQM said.

In view of the improvement in the overall AQI of Delhi over the past few days, and also considering the meteorological and weather forecasts by IITM/IMD, the sub-committee for invoking actions under GRAP of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) met on Wednesday to review the current air quality scenario.

While reviewing the overall air quality parameters of Delhi-NCR and other aspects, the sub-committee noted that forecasts by IMD/IITM do not indicate the overall AQI of Delhi to slip into 'very poor' category in the coming days, and is likely to remain in the 'moderate' category. Therefore, it is felt advisable to relax the ongoing restrictions under stage-II of GRAP and roll it back with immediate effect in the entire NCR, the statement said.

The order for invoking stage-II level restrictions were invoked on October 19 last year.

The overall AQI of Delhi has significantly improved from the level of 207 ('poor' category) observed on January 30 to 192 (upper-end of 'moderate' category) observed on January 31 to 164 (?moderate' category) recorded on February 1, it said.

Various agencies responsible for implementing measures under GRAP and Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) of NCR and DPCC have also been advised to ensure strict implementation of all actions of stage-I under GRAP in the entire NCR. The Commission shall be closely watching the air quality scenario in the coming days and will review the situation accordingly, it added.

The Commission has advised people to keep engines of their vehicles, such as cars, bikes, scooters etc. Properly tuned; maintain proper air pressure in tyres of vehicles; and keep PUC certificates of their vehicles up to date.