The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) has directed the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) states to implement air pollution control measures listed under the “very poor” and “severe” category of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). These measures will come into force from October 15, 2020 to improve the air quality of the Delhi-NCR region. Here in this article, we have explained below what is GRAP plan to tackle air pollution and what measures are taken under several air quality levels under the action plan.
As per the directions given by the EPCA, the diesel generators will no longer be used in Delhi and NCR towns including Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon and others with effect from October 15. The generators will only be used for emergency and essential services.
Moreover, the Pollution control authorities will carry out the night patrolling to investigate dust, industrial emissions and burning of waste. The pollution monitoring body has also directed the authorities to undertake frequent sprinkling of water on roads. Let's now have a look at the details of the GRAP plan below:
What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was formulated in 2016 and was notified in the year 2017. The action plan was formed after several meetings conducted between EPCA and State Government representatives.
The GRAP works as an emergency measure to tackle air pollution. This graded action plan is not supposed to be implemented throughout the year. It is implemented in graded manner when the air quality moves from ‘Poor’ to ‘Very Poor’, 'Very poor' to 'severe' or others.
The GRAP requires implementation of actions by respective state authorities and coordination among 13 agencies of Delhi, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Actions listed under GRAP to control air pollution
Varied actions are listed under different air quality categories of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Have a look at these actions below:
| Air Quality Category | Actions |
| Severe+ or Emergency Category Air Quality (When PM 2.5 over 300 cubic metre or PM10 over 500 cu.m. for more than 48 hours is recorded) | No entry for trucks into Delhi; only trucks carrying essential commodities allowed Stop Construction work Introduction of odd/even scheme for vehicles Task Force decide additional steps such as closing of schools |
| Severe Category Air Quality (PM 2.5 over 250 cu.m. or PM10 over 430 cu.m. is observed) | Closing of brick kilns, stone crushers and hot mix plants Maximisation of power generation only from natural gas to minimise generation from coal Encourage public transport Frequent sprinkling of water on roads |
| Very Poor Category Air Quality (PM2.5 of 121-250 cu.m. or PM10 of around 351-430 cu.m. is recorded) | Ban on use of diesel generator sets Increase parking fee by 3-4 times Increase bus & metro services Discourage burning fires in winters in apartments Movement of people outside to be restricted for People with respiratory or cardiac conditions |
| Moderate to Poor Category Air Quality (PM2.5 of 61-120 cu.m. or PM10 of 101-350 cu.m.) | Fine on garbage burning Enforce pollution control regulations in brick kilns & industries Mechanised sweeping & sprinkling of water on roads Ban on firecrackers |
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