Delhi-NCR Winter Air Pollution: GRAP, Enforcement and Airshed Governance
Context
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) strengthened the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), while Delhi and Gurugram announced several measures to address winter pollution. These included mechanised road sweeping, real-time PUC monitoring and restrictions based on different pollution levels.
Key Highlights
- GRAP is an emergency and stage-based framework that responds to deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI) levels. However, it cannot substitute for continuous, year-round measures to reduce emissions at their source.
- The major sources of air pollution vary across locations and seasons. They include vehicular emissions, road and construction dust, industrial activities, waste burning, biomass burning, secondary aerosols and crop-residue burning.
- Delhi’s air pollution is an airshed-level issue that extends beyond administrative boundaries and involves several States. Fragmented institutional responsibilities and weak enforcement can reduce the effectiveness of otherwise well designed measures.
- Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates assess only limited parameters related to vehicle emissions and may be vulnerable to manipulation. Measures such as fuel denial can encourage compliance, but they require reliable databases, effective monitoring and accessible grievance-redressal mechanisms.
Key Concepts
CAQM Act, 2021; National Clean Air Programme (NCAP); AQI; PM2.5; Source Apportionment; Airshed; GRAP
Way Forward
- Establish a permanent airshed-level institutional mechanism with common targets for the entire Delhi NCR region.
- Publish compliance and enforcement data at the ward level to improve transparency.
- Accelerate the transition to electric buses and freight vehicles.
- Strengthen measures to control road and construction dust as well as waste burning.
- Improve the reliability and monitoring of PUC testing.
- Combine crop residue management incentives with effective enforcement to address stubble burning.