Curbs lifted as Delhi's air quality improves

NEW DELHI:  With air pollution in Delhi-NCR ameliorating, the Centre’s air quality panel on Wednesday directed authorities to lift the curbs imposed under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, including a ban on non-essential construction and demolition work.   

The decision was taken after observing a decline in the overall AQI. The weather predictions too did not suggest any adverse impact in the dispersal of pollutants from the city’s air, according to the GRAP sub-committee which reviewed the pollution status during the day.

The curbs under Stage III were invoked on December 30 after the overall AQI almost touched the “severe” category and the panel predicted a significant deterioration in the average air quality of Delhi due to calm wind and stable atmospheric conditions.

However, the AQI recorded in the day and improvement in the coming days observed by the panel led to the revocation of the Stage III measures. “The AQI has improved and exhibited a decreasing trend since the last 24 hours and has been recorded under the ‘very poor’ category.

Preventive/restrictive GRAP- III measures invoked seem to have helped the AQI levels not breach the ‘severe’ zone and forecast by IMD also does not predict the AQI levels to go beyond the ‘severe’ category in coming days,” the sub-committee said.

Meanwhile, the panel also said that it considered the impact on livelihoods, which may have been caused due to the restrictions, during its review of the decision to uplift the curbs. “The actions under the GRAP are essentially emergency response and are disruptive in nature impacting a large strata of society. The sub-Committee, accordingly, hereby decides to revoke the order, issued vide dated 3oth December, 2022 for actions under Stage-lll of the GRAP, with immediate effect,” it said.