2.6 lakh vehicles fined more than Rs 260 crore over pollution in Delhi

Authorities crackdown on air pollution has hit violators hard in Delhi with more than Rs 260 crore in fines imposed on over 26 lakh vehicles lacking Pollution Under Control Certificates PUCC in just 50 daysThe crackdown was implemented under the Graded Response Action Plan GRAPBetween October 16 and December 6 the Environment Department issued 260258 challans across all four stages of GRAPBreaking down the time period and stages a total of 12756 challans were imposed in Stage 1 from October 16 to 22 111235 in Stage 2 between October 22 and November 14 13938 in Stage 3 from November 15 to 17 and 114089 in Stage 4 from November 18 to December 5Meanwhile 8240 challans were issued in Stage 2 after Stage4 restrictions were lifted on Thursday with Stage2 restrictions remaining in effect according to official data A fine of Rs 10000 is imposed on motorists for not having a valid pollution PUCCDelhis air quality reached alarming levels on November 17 when the air quality index AQI touched 450 entering the severeplus category for the first time this yearStage4 restrictions came into force on the morning of November 18In response the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region CAQM escalated the situation to Stage4 restrictions the strictest level of action under GRAPThe Stage4 restrictions came into force on the morning of November 18 when AQI levels reached a hazardous 494 the citys secondworst air quality in six yearsThe spike triggered a complete ban on nonessential trucks entering Delhi except for those carrying essential goods or using clean fuel including liquified natural gas LNG compressed natural gas CNG Bharat Standar BSVI diesel or electric vehicles Nonessential light commercial vehicles from outside Delhi were also banned with exemptions for electric vehicles EVs and CNGBSVI diesel vehiclesThe implementation of Stage4 saw the highest number of fines issued for traffic violations with a total of 114089 challans between November 18 and December 5Meanwhile from December 6 to 7 as the Stage4 restrictions were lifted and Stage2 measures were put in place 8240 challans were issuedIn total 11427 overaged vehicles were impounded under various stages of GRAP The highest number of fines was recorded under Stage 2 with 5346 overaged vehicles impounded between October 22 and November 14GRAP A set of antiair pollution measures implemented in DelhiNCRThis was followed by 3679 vehicles impounded during Stage 4 restrictions from November 18 to December 5 according to official dataThe restrictions also targeted the flow of nondestined trucks into Delhi During the enforcement period 104768 trucks were diverted through the Eastern and Western Peripheral RoadsHowever after Stage 4 restrictions were lifted on December 6 the number of nondestined trucks diverted to Delhi dropped to zeroFirst implemented in 2017 the GRAP is a set of antiair pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situationIt classifies the air quality in the DelhiNCR under four different stages Stage 1 poor AQI 201300 Stage 2 very poor AQI 301400 Stage 3 severe AQI 401450 and Stage 4 severe plus AQI above 450A total of 730 vehicles were challaned for carrying construction amp demolition waste uncovered across all stages with 150 in Stage 1 280 in Stage 2 15 in Stage 3 278 in Stage 4 and seven in Stage 2 after Stage 4 restrictions were lifted and Stage 2 restrictions remained in effectMeanwhile 681 traffic congestion points were decongested according to official dataAfter a month of struggling with toxic air Delhis air began to heal with the help of wind and on December 1 it was recorded in the poor categoryAs the days passed the air quality improved to moderate category However it took a turn again and this Sunday the air quality deteriorated recording a very poor category with an AQI of 302On Monday the AQI improved again and returned to the moderate category according to CPCB dataThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever