Delhi air quality worsens to ‘severe’ category; ban on construction in NCR, classes up to grade 5 to shift to hybrid mode

The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR on Tuesday as air quality worsened to ‘severe’ for the first time this winter.

The enforcement of GRAP III, a set of emergency measures to curb rising air pollution, entails a prohibition on construction and demolition activities across the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), as well as a ban on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar.

The restrictions will take effect following orders issued by the respective State governments. Existing restrictions under the first two stages of the GRAP will also remain in effect under GRAP III.

The CAQM also announced that classes up to grade 5 will shift to hybrid mode.

“State governments to mandatorily conduct classes up to Class V in a ‘hybrid’ mode, i.e., both in physical and online mode (wherever online mode is feasible),” the commission said in a statement.