With pollution season approaching, Delhi govt decides to launch 15-point action plan to fight it

New Delhi, Aug 25: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the city government will launch a 15-point action plan in October to fight air pollution in winter.

The plan will focus on stubble management, dust pollution, vehicular emission, open burning of garbage, industrial pollution, green war room and Green Delhi application, pollution hotspots, real-time apportionment study, smog tower, e-waste parks, plantation, eco-farming, public participation, firecrackers and joint action with neighbouring states. Rai will discuss all the action points in detail with the 33 departments concerned in a meeting on September 5.

Their suggestions and recommendations will be incorporated in the winter action plan. The September 5 meeting will also brainstorm on the implementation of the revised Graded Response Action Plan. Rai said 39 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi is generated locally and the rest comes from neighbouring areas in the National Capital Region.

The revamped GRAP -- a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in Delhi and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation -- will come into force from October 1, fifteen days before the usual date, according to the Commission for Air Quality Management.

The revised plan, which is part of a new policy formulated by the CAQM to abate air pollution in Delhi-NCR, focuses on proactive implementation of the curbs based on forecasts -- restrictions can be imposed up to three days in advance. Earlier, the authorities would implement the measures only after the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration touched a particular threshold.

The new plan also entails a ban on BS IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles, barring those engaged in essential services, in Delhi and the bordering districts of NCR if the air quality index (AQI) breaches the 450 mark. The GRAP for the National Capital Region (NCR) has now been classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I - 'Poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II - 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III - 'Severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - 'Severe Plus' (AQI >450).