Delhi air pollution: GRAP Stage III revoked, ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles lifted

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR with immediate effect on Monday. The GRAP-III was invoked across Delhi-NCR on December 22 to deal with poor air quality and rising air pollution in the city. 

As per the statement issued by the CAQM, actions under Stage-I and Stage-II of the GRAP shall, however, remain invoked, and be implemented and reviewed by all agencies concerned.

As GRAP-III restrictions were revoked, the ban on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in Delhi and surrounding areas was also lifted. However, the ban on construction activities remains intact.

“C&D (Construction and Demolition) project sites and industrial units which have been issued specific closure orders on account of violations/non-compliances of various statutory directions, rules, guidelines etc under no circumstances shall resume their operation without any specific order to this effect from the Commission,” the CAQM statement said.

The CAQM is a statutory body that is responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the region.

The official statement said that the sub-committee of CAQM revoked the Stage-III of GRAP in view of the forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD)/Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) for meteorological conditions and air quality index (AQI) of Delhi. 

The statement further mentioned that the forecast does not indicate any deterioration further and there is a likelihood of the AQI improving while remaining in the very poor/poor category in the next few days.

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The commission has also asked agencies to keep strict vigil and especially intensify measures under Stages I and II of GRAP to obviate the implementation of Stage III of GITAP actions.

The CAQM invoked actions under GRAP Stage III last year on December 22 amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi as the AQI level slipped into the 'Severe' category for several days.