ASK NCR CITIES TO IMPLEMENT GRAP MEASURES, SAYS DELHI GOVT

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Wednesday wrote to the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution( Control and Prevention) Authority (EPCA) requesting it to “advise” cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) to implement measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), including the odd-even scheme.

The move comes two days after the Delhi government had appealed to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to include cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the odd-even drive.

In his letter to EPCA chariman Bhure Lal, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said implementation of GRAP measures in Delhi would not be of much effect unless similar measures were adopted by the NCR.

The air pollution levels in the NCR, that assumed alarming proportions last week, also affected millions of residents in cities including G ur ga on, Noida, Ghazia bad and Far ida bad, besides the national capital.

Gahlot alleged that the EPCA was “quiet” over the obligations of the NCR, while the Delhi government was criticised for “flipflop” over the odd-even scheme.

The Delhi government was eager to implement the odd-even scheme from November 13, but its inability to do so in view of the National Green Tribunal order not exempting women and twowheelers, was “unnecessarily projected” as a “flip-flop” on the part of the government, the minister said. “The EPCA has not helped the matter by keeping quiet with regard to the obligations of the NCR towns in this regard,” he added.

The E PC A with drew the G RAP measures, including the ban on entry of trucks, enhanced parking fees from across Delhi-NCR as air quality remained out of the “emergency” category for the second straight day.