Centre’s GRAP comes into effect from today to control pollution in Delhi

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the center has been put into effect in Delhi as of right now due to the potential for an increase in pollution levels during the winter. The GRAP’s Winter Action Plan steps are very crucial. GRAP consists of a total of four stages.

Stage 1 – ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage 2 – ‘very poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage 3 – ‘severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage 4 – ‘severe plus’ (AQI >450).
The action plan was implemented as an emergency response mechanism to poor air quality levels. But this time, the government implemented GRAP even before the worsening of Delhi’s air quality.

Only when the air quality becomes extremely poor will different phases of the action plan be put into action. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) is currently below 200. The Environment Ministry announced on Friday, in advance of the implementation of the GRAP to combat pollution, that diesel generator sets for all capacity ranges will be permitted to operate in Delhi-NCR from October 1 through December 31 as a one-time exception. The Commission for Air Quality Management made the choice.

Since May 15, the commission has prohibited the use of diesel generator sets in the National Capital Region (NCR)’scommercialand industrial sectors. Residents’ welfare organizations vehemently disagreed with CAQM’s earlier decision to outright forbid diesel gensets during GRAP.