The Central Government on Sunday issued an order to impose restrictions on non-essential construction activities and the running of BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheeled vehicles on roads in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) amid deteriorating air quality.
New Delhi – The air quality in Delhi continues to worsen. This morning, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 398, falling into the “Very Poor” category. On Sunday, the Central Government ordered restrictions on unnecessary construction activities and the movement of BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheeled vehicles on roads in the Delhi-NCR region. Anticipating prolonged poor air quality, the committee has decided to implement the third phase of the ‘Graded Response Action Plan’ (GRAP) immediately.
The restrictions include a ban on non-essential construction activities and the running of BS-3 petrol as well as BS-4 diesel four-wheeled vehicles on roads.
Projects related to national security or defense, nationally important projects, healthcare, railways, metro rail, airports, inter-state bus terminals, national highways, roads, flyovers, bridges, power transmission pipelines, sanitation, and water supply construction activities are exempted from the restrictions.
GRAP is the Central Government’s air pollution control plan, which categorizes restrictions under four phases: the first phase – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300), the second phase – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400), the third phase – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450), and the fourth phase – ‘Very Severe’ (AQI above 450).
