Delhi Pollution: What Is Banned And What Is Allowed Under Grap III As Air Quality Remains 'Severe'

Delhi's air quality remains severe, prompting GRAP-III restrictions under which stringent ban will be put in place on construction and demolition activities among others.

Delhi's air quality remained in the 'severe' category, prompting the central pollution watchdog to invoke restrictions under the third stage of GRAP in Delhi-NCR. The Air Quality Index in the city stood at 420 at 6 am on Friday with 26 stations recording AQI of and above 400.

The stations that recorded air quality in 'severe' category include Anand Vihar (455), Ashok Vihar (452), Bawana (449), Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (405), Dwarka Sector 8 (456), IGI Airport (447), Jahangirpuri (456), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (443), Mandir Marg (425), Mundka (459), NSIT Dwarka (431), Najafgarh (438), Narela (436), Nehru Nagar (457), North Campus-DU (400), Okhla Phase-2 (437), Patparganj (461), Punjabi Bagh (458), Pusa-IMD (405), RK Puram (450), Rohini (454), Shadipur (421), Sirifort (440), Sonia Vihar (419), Vivek Vihar (447), and Wazirpur (456).

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe" and above 450 "severe-plus". 

In order to curb the rising pollution, the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) said that the government of Delhi and NCR states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan will impose GRAP-III restrictions. 

GRAP-III: What Is Banned And What Is Allowed? 

Under the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), strict restrictions will be imposed on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel (four-wheelers) in the national capital and neighbouring Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. A fine of Rs 20,000 will be imposed for violating the restriction. 

All inter-state buses from NCR will be prohibited from entering Delhi except electric vehicles, CNG vehicles and BS-VI diesel buses. 

Construction and demolition activities and mining-related activities will face stringent bans. The CAQM, however, said that construction-related activities which are relatively less polluting and less dust-generating, will be allowed in the NCR, subject to strict compliance with the C&D Waste Management Rules.

Diesel generator sets will be used only for emergency purposes. Industrial operations not running on fuels in the standard list of approved ones will also remain banned. 

Major welding and gas-cutting operations will also remain prohibited. However, minor welding activities for MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) work will be permitted. 

Painting, polishing and varnishing works, cement, Plaster / other coatings, cutting/grinding and fixing of tiles, stones and other flooring materials, and waterproofing work will not be allowed except for minor indoor repairs/ maintenance. 

Water will be sprinkled on major roads daily to suppress dust. 

The Delhi Metro will include 20 extra trips (in addition to 40 already in place since GRAP-II was implemented) into its services on weekdays, starting Friday, said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. 

Physical classes for primary schools will not be held till further orders, but online classes can continue and students up to 5th grade can also be considered for virtual classes. Several schools in Delhi have limited outdoor activities for students. 

The restrictions under GRAP-III will come into force at 8 am on Friday.