Emergency action plan to fight capital pollution

In view of poor air quality in the national capital, the Delhi government said it is prepared to take steps such as stopping of construction works, halting power plants, and bringing odd-even scheme in emergency cases, as enlisted under the Graded Action Response Plan (GARP) which will come into force from October 15.

The plan, notified by the Union environment Ministry in January this year, has an advisory for each category of air pollution — emergency, severe, very poor, poor, and moderate and will be implemented in Delhi-NCR between October 15 and March 15.

At the level of 100 microgrammes per cubic metre of PM 2.5, for example, mechanised sweeping and water sprinkling along roads has to start. Traffic police personnel have to ensure smooth flow of traffic, and all pollution control measures that are already in place — such as stopping landfill fires, and enforcing Pollution Under Control (PUC) norms and a ban on firecrackers — have to be imposed strictly. Once the plan is notified, emergency measures like odd-even car rationing scheme and ban on construction activities will be automatically enforced in the city if level of PM 2.5 breaches 300 micrograms per cubic metre and PM 10 levels stay above 500 micrograms per cubic metre for two consecutive days.

The plan also recommends that during “very poor” air quality, diesel generators must be banned and parking free increased by three to four times.

The plan has enumerated a number of other measures which include closing brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers, intensifying public transport services besides increase in frequency of mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water on roads.

The Delhi government also said that it will take strict action against any crop burning.

Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday directed the Punjab government to produce before it 21 farmers which it claimed to have helped by giving incentives and infrastructural

facilities to prevent them from burning crop residue in a bid to check air pollution.

Over a hundred farmers had gathered outside the National Green Tribunal premises here on Wednesday to attend the hearing on the issue and put forth their submissions and grievances through a lawyer before a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.