Work on linear projects allowed in NCR post ban

A view of the Anand Vihar area covered in a thick layer of smog. The air quality was recorded in the ‘Very poor’ category on Saturday. Pic/PTI

The Centre on Saturday removed stringent curbs, including a ban on construction work related to linear projects and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi, following an improvement in air quality due to an increase in the wind speed and a change in the wind direction.

These measures constitute the final stage, Stage IV, of the Centre's air pollution control plan called the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the region, asked Delhi and NCR states to revoke all emergency measures, under which only CNG, electric and BS VI-compliant vehicles from other states are allowed to enter Delhi, with exemptions granted to those involved in essential services. All medium and heavy goods vehicles not engaged in essential services were also banned in the capital under Stage IV of GRAP, according to the latest CAQM order.

The pollution control body said all other curbs under stages I, II and III of GRAP, including a ban on non-essential construction work, mining, stone crushers and diesel generators will continue. The city's 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4 pm every day, improved from 405 on Friday to 319 on Saturday. It was 419 on Thursday, 401 on Wednesday, 397 on Tuesday, 358 on Monday, 218 on Sunday, 220 on Saturday and 279 on Friday. According to IQAir, air-quality in Delhi was the second-most polluted city in the world.

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