NEW DELHI: The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to combat air pollution in the city is coming into force from Monday, even as the air quality continued to remain in the ‘poor’ category.
The plan, which was notified by environment ministry and launched in Delhi last year to combat different levels of pollution, has an advisory for each category of air pollution — emergency, severe, very poor, poor, and moderate.
As per the plan, if the air quality lies in the moderate category, measures like mechanised sweeping and water sprinkling along roads has to start. Traffic police personnel have to ensure smooth flow of traffic and other measures like stopping garbage burning in landfills and other places, and enforcing all pollution control regulations in brick kilns and industries, would be implemented.
If the air quality falls in the very poor category, additional measures of stopping the use of diesel generator sets, enhancing parking fees three to four times and increasing frequency of metro and buses would be implemented.
Last year, actions, like shutting down of Badarpur power plant, and ban on diesel generator sets in Delhi, were implemented under GRAP to prevent the air quality to deteriorate further.
If the air quality falls in the severe category, additional measures would be implemented of increasing frequency of mechanised cleaning of roads, sprinkling of water on roads and identifying road stretches with high dust generation.
If the air quality falls to severe plus emergency category, then measures like stopping entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities), stopping construction activities and appointment of a task force to take a decision on any additional steps, including shutting of schools, are implemented.
Currently, the air quality is in the poor category but authorities have predicted that it would reach the ‘very poor’ category in the next couple of days.
On Sunday, the air quality improved a bit from Saturday as the average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 204, as against Saturday’s 246.
