Centre's air quality panel for Delhi revokes anti-pollution measures

The Centre's air quality panel for Delhi-NCR on Thursday revoked restrictive pollution control measures under stages 3 and 4 of the anti-pollution control plan for winters, according to an official order.

The restrictions have been reduced to Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which involves less stringent curbs such as a ban on the use of coal and firewood in industries and commercial establishments, including eateries.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court allowed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to relax the stringent GRAP-4 curbs to stage 2 to deal with air pollution in the national capital region in view of improvement in the air quality index (AQI) levels.

Delhiites breathed cleaner air for the second consecutive day on Thursday as the AQI was recorded in the "moderate" category with a reading of 165.

Noting that the AQI level in the National Capital Region (NCR) did not cross 300 in the last four days, the top court told the CAQM that stage-3 curbs would be introduced if AQI crossed the 350 mark and stage-4 curbs if AQI crossed 400.

Stages 3 and 4 of GRAP entail a ban on the entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods unless they run on CNG, LNG, or BS-VI diesel.

Diesel-powered medium and heavy goods vehicles (BS-IV or lower) are prohibited, except for essential services while non-essential light commercial vehicles from outside Delhi are also restricted under GRAP stages 3 and 4.

All construction and demolition activities, including public infrastructure projects like highways, flyovers, and pipelines, are also banned.