Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP revokes Stage-III of revised GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect
All actions under Stages II & I of revised GRAP shall however remain invoked and be implemented, intensified, monitored and reviewed by all agencies concerned in the entire NCR to ensure that the AQI levels do not rise further in the coming days
Construction & Demolition project sites and industrial units etc. which have been issued specific closure orders on account of violations/ non-compliances of various statutory directions, rules, guidelines etc. under no circumstances shall resume their operations without any specific order to this effect from the Commission
Posted On: 27 DEC 2024 7:54PM by PIB Delhi
Delhi’s average AQI improved to 348 at 5PM, 341 at 6PM, and further improved to 334 at 7PM, clearly indicating a downward trend. In view of this trend of improvement in the average AQI of Delhi, the Sub-Committee on Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) met today to review the current air quality scenario in the region as well as the forecasts for meteorological conditions and air quality index made available by IMD/ IITM and accordingly take an appropriate call on the preventive/ restrictive actions under Stage-III of revised GRAP in place in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) since 16.12.2024. While comprehensively reviewing the overall air quality parameters of Delhi-NCR, the Sub-Committee observed as under:
- Owing to the favourable meteorological conditions and continuous rains since early morning, the AQI of Delhi has been continuously improving and has been recorded as 348 at 5:00 PM, 341 at 6:00 PM and 334 at 7:00 PM and the trend/forecast suggest the AQI levels to further go down.
- As per the air quality & weather forecast provided by IMD/ IITM, there is a likelihood of the average AQI of Delhi to remain in “Poor” category (201-300 AQI of Delhi) in the coming days owing to the favourable meteorological conditions.
Therefore, keeping in view the disruptive nature of restrictions under Stage-III of revised GRAP impacting a large number of stakeholders and public as well as considering the trend of improvement in the daily average AQI of Delhi and also the forecasts by IMD/ IITM indicating the likelihood of the overall air quality of Delhi to stay in lower end of ‘Very Poor’/ ‘Poor’ category in the coming days, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP today unanimously decided to revoke Stage-III of revised GRAP in the entire NCR, with immediate effect. All actions under Stages II & I of revised GRAP shall however remain invoked and be implemented, monitored and reviewed by all agencies concerned in the entire NCR and agencies shall keep strict vigil and especially intensify measures under Stages II & I of revised GRAP in order to obviate the need for re-implementation of Stage-III of revised GRAP actions in NCR.
Further, Construction & Demolition (C&D) project sites and industrial units etc. which have been issued specific closure orders on account of violations/ non-compliances of various statutory directions, rules, guidelines etc. under no circumstances shall resume their operations without any specific order to this effect from the Commission.
While GRAP Stage-III is being revoked, keeping in view the winter season when weather conditions may not be always favourable and in order to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further, citizens are requested to strictly adhere to the citizen charter under GRAP Stages II & I.
The Sub-Committee, shall be keeping a close watch on the air quality scenario and review the situation from time to time for further appropriate decision depending upon the Air Quality in Delhi and forecast made by IMD/IITM.
The comprehensively revised GRAP schedule (December, 2024) is available on the Commission’s website, i.e., https://caqm.nic.in/
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