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Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

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  • Context (IE): Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) ordered the implementation of Stage-2 emergency measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

  • GRAP is a set of emergency measures that are taken to prevent further deterioration of air quality after AQI of Delhi-NCR region reaches a certain threshold.
  • It was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 in its verdict on M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India.
  • GRAP was first notified by MoEFCC in 2017. This was based on a plan that was submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in November 2016.
  • Implementing agency: Initially, GRAP was implemented by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (now dissolved).
    • From 2021 onwards, the GRAP is being implemented by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM).
  • GRAP is incremental in nature and thus, when the air quality dips from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor,’ measures listed under both sections must be followed.
  • CAQM relies on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

New Revised GRAP

  • CAQM has revised GRAP to strengthen measures to combat the deterioration of AQI in winter months.
  • It will come into force on 1st October 2023 in the entire NCR.

Revised GRAP

Stage of Air Quality

AQI

Actions

Stage I – Poor 201-300
  • Enforce NGT/SC’s order on overaged diesel/petrol vehicles
Stage II – Very Poor 301-400
  • Targeted actions to combat air pollution at identified hotspots
  • Regulated operations of DG (Diesel Generators) in all sectors
Stage III – Severe 401-450
  • Impose strict restrictions on plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel LMVs (4 wheelers)
  • May discontinue physical classes in schools up to Class V
Stage IV – Severe + > 450
  • Do not permit LCVs registered outside Delhi (other than EVs/CNG/BS-VI diesel) to enter Delhi, except those carrying essential commodities/providing essential services
  • May close educational institutions and non‑emergency commercial activities
  • Permit vehicles on an odd-even basis of registration numbers

Read more about the Reasons for Delhi’s Air Pollution.

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

  • It is a statutory body established through the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021.
  • The Act also dissolved the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) established in the NCR in 1998.
  • The chairperson of the Commission will be a government official of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India or Chief Secretary to the State government.
  • The Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the National Capital Region (NCR), including areas in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, in matters of air pollution.
  • It supersedes bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
  • The Commission has the authority to issue directions to these state governments on matters related to air pollution.
  • The Commission possesses penal powers. It can impose fines of up to Rs 1 crore and imprisonment of up to 5 years if its directives are contravened.

Air Quality Index

  • Air Quality Index (AQI) is a number, which is a measure of air quality.
  • AQI value ranges from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI, the worse the air.
  • National AQI was launched in India in 2014 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign.
  • Objective: to help simplify the common understanding of air pollution.
  • The AQI scheme was recommended by IIT Kanpur and an Expert Group.
  • AQI considers eight pollutants for which 24-hour average National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are prescribed. The pollutants are:
    1. Particulate Matter (PM10),
    2. Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
    3. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
    4. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
    5. Carbon Monoxide (CO)
    6. Ozone (O3)
    7. Ammonia (NH3)
    8. Lead (Pb)
  • There are six categories of AQI: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.

    Air Quality Index (AQI)

Source: Air Pollution in India – Crucial Aspects | Environics Trust (environicsindia.in)

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