Maha planning emergency response to fight pollution
The action plan will be implemented in 25 cities that fail to meet specific standards and 5 Cantt boards
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has planned to implement an emergency response system, similar to Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi to combat air pollution. This will be done in non-attainment cities that consistently fail to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM 10 (Particulate matter that is 10 microns or less in diameter) or NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide).
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) drafted this plan and shared it with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) along with other eligible local bodies in September 2020.
According to officials, this is likely to be implemented in time for next year’s pollution cycle.
The GRAP is a set of measures that are triggered in phases as air quality deteriorates. For example, when the Air Quality Index (AQI) in DelhiNCR hits the ‘severe’ category, concerning municipal corporations in Delhi, Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh impose bans on polluting activities such as construction, operation of cement mix plants and running diesel generators, and step-up patrolling for open burning.
The sprinkling of water and road-sweeping to control dust pollution are also activities triggered under the GRAP every winter in the National Capital Region (NCR), when air quality hits the ‘very poor’ AQI category.
MPCB has categorised air quality in four stages (from ‘moderate’ to ‘emergency’) based on the daily concentration of particulate matter pollutants PM2.5 and PM10. In Delhi, the pollution control measures range from dust sweeping during ‘moderate’ conditions to imposing odd-even vehicle rationing schemes and blanket bans on construction work when pollution levels touch ‘severe’ classification.
These gradations, and the actions mandated under them, are uniform across Maharashtra and will be implemented by municipal bodies when air quality remains within a category for 48 hours.
The GRAP will be implemented in 25 non-attainment cities and five cantonment boards across the state. A senior MPCB official informed, “All municipal corporations and councils of non-attainment cities in Maharashtra have been given a copy of the GRAP. They have been told to take appropriate action for the improvement of air quality by implementing it, but this has not happened yet. It is up to the Urban Local Bodies (ULB)s to start doing so. The MPCB will act as the regulator of this plan and seek daily reports from the environment departments of the implementing ULBs.”
The official further informed that in a coastal city like Mumbai, where winters are very mild, there may never be a situation when air quality touches the ‘emergency’ category. But in cities like Pune, or further west like Nashik and Nagpur, where winters are much intense, GRAP will play an important role in curbing air pollution.
Sunil Godse, who heads the BMC’s environment wing, said that GRAP will be put through a public consultation process in the last week of February 2022, as part of the Mumbai Climate Action Plan which is being developed in partnership with the World Resources Institute (India).
“Once the graded action goes through the public consultation process, we will begin implementing it. It should be operational in time for next year’s pollution cycle in Mumbai,” Godse said.