New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday decided to hold off on implementing stricter measures to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR, preferring to assess the effectiveness of the current actions.
The central government on Friday ordered a ban on non-essential construction work and plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi-NCR amid worsening air quality in the region.
A Sub-Committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for planning air pollution mitigation measures in Delhi-NCR, reviewed the situation on Saturday, the Environment Ministry said.
Observing that GRAP Stage III curbs were implemented only a day ago, the committee decided to wait and observe the impact of the measures implemented under Stage III before considering more severe actions under Stage IV, it said.
The Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP), the central government's air pollution control plan for Delhi-NCR, categorises actions into four stages: Stage I - Poor (AQI 201-300); Stage II - Very Poor (AQI 301-400); Stage III - Severe (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - Severe Plus (AQI above 450).
Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) rose to around 450 on Saturday afternoon.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', 401 and 450 'severe' and above 450 'severe-plus'.
According to the CAQM, unfavourable meteorological conditions, including fog and haze, and low wind speed are the major causes behind the sudden spike in Delhi's daily average AQI.
(Published 23 December 2023, 16:17 IST)
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