Photo credit: ANI
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Thursday revoked Stage-III restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR after a sustained improvement in air quality, with the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) moving out of the ‘severe’ zone.In an order issued by the CAQM, it said Delhi’s AQI stood at 322 on Thursday, aided by favourable meteorological conditions. Forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) indicate that air quality is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category in the coming daysFollowing a review by the sub-committee on GRAP, the commission decided to revoke Stage-III (‘severe’ category) measures with immediate effect. However, actions under GRAP Stage-I and Stage-II will continue across the NCR to prevent any further deterioration in air quality. Under Stage-III curbs, which were in force until Thursday, non-essential construction and demolition activities were banned. This included earthwork, piling, open trenching, welding, painting, plastering, tile and flooring work, as well as operations at ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants. The transportation of construction materials such as cement, sand and fly ash on unpaved roads was also prohibited. Stone crushers, brick kilns, mining activities and industries operating on unapproved fuels were ordered to shut.Vehicular restrictions included a ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers, non-essential diesel-powered medium goods vehicles and inter-state diesel buses not running on CNG, electricity or BS-VI standards. Exemptions, however, were provided for essential services, with infrastructure and public utility projects including metro, railways, airports, highways, defence, healthcare and sanitation allowed to continue.The CAQM clarified that construction and demolition sites shut for specific violations will not be allowed to resume work without explicit permission. It also urged enforcement agencies to maintain strict vigil during the winter season and requested the citizens to strictly adhere to the citizen charter under GRAP Stage 1 and Stage 2 to prevent any further deterioration in air quality.