NEW DELHI: Restrictions on movement of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar; 50% of employees in government and private offices in Delhi work from home; Hybrid mode for classes up to IX and XI in Delhi; The ban on construction and demolition work and the ban on the entry of non-essential trucks running on non-cleaner fuels into the city are among the restrictive measures under Stage III and IV of the GRAP that came into force on Saturday.After Delhi’s AQI reached 401 at 10 am on Saturday, the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) imposed Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan. However, later stage IV was initiated as the AQI continued to rise. The AQI crossed 450 and reached the “strong plus” zone at 8 p.m. and rose to 455 at 9 p.m.
All levels of GRAP are currently in effect. “The AQI of Delhi, which was recorded at 431 at 4 pm, showed an increasing trend and was recorded at 441 at 6 pm due to slow wind speed, stable atmosphere, unfavorable weather parameters, meteorological conditions and lack of dispersal of pollutants,” CAQM said. It added that Stage IV was introduced to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region.After enforcing new tiers, the Delhi government issued directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to all government offices and all private offices operating in Delhi to operate at 50% strength and the rest to work from home. It also directed all principals of government, government aided, unaided and recognized private schools to conduct classes in hybrid mode, except classes X and XII.Under GRAP Stage III, construction and demolition work has been banned in Delhi-NCR, which will impact the livelihood of daily wage earners. Exemptions for linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, bridges, power transmission, pipelines, telecommunications, etc. have been removed in Stage IV.Stages III and IV of GRAP focus primarily on reducing vehicle pollution. The non-essential vehicles subject to restrictions include light motor vehicles with petrol engines of class BS III and diesel engines of class BS IV, diesel vehicles of class BS IV or below for truck traffic into the capital, diesel heavy commercial vehicles of class BS-IV and below registered in Delhi, diesel medium duty vehicles registered in Delhi and diesel freight transporters of class BS-IV not registered in Delhi entering the city.“Children, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses should avoid outdoor activities,” CAQM advised.
