Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

Context (IE): Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) ordered the implementation of Stage-2 emergency measures under the 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).

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

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.