Sirsa said that during winter, when the city faces severe pollution, smoke generated from biomass burning such as firewood, raw coal, and other materials—worsens the smog situation.
The decision came in the aftermath of a sharp rise in Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) from 362 on Monday to 425 on Tuesday morning.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s Sameer app, at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, 34 out of Delhi’s 39 active monitoring stations recorded ‘severe’ AQI levels; several at the higher end of the range. The AQI touched 462 in Bawana, 460 in Wazirpur, and 452 in both Mundka and Punjabi Bagh.
The directions from the civic agency came ten days after the implementation of Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the capital on October 19, on the eve of Diwali.
The move is aimed at encouraging people to use Metro instead of their own vehicles and help mitigate the deteriorating air quality in the capital city as a collective responsibility.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked the curbs under stage III of its anti-pollution Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR and Adjoining areas on Thursday after noting an rising trend in Air Quality Index (AQI) levels.
The Central government's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), on Monday, once again invoked curbs under stage III of its anti-pollution Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR in the wake of a sharp rise in Delhi's pollution level due to adverse meteorological conditions.
The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to relax stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GTAP) restrictions in Delhi-NCR to GRAP stage II in view of the downward trend and betterment in the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Following the implementation of anti-pollution measures under the Graded Response Action Plan's stage-III, enforcement agencies were seen in action across the city inspecting and monitoring vehicles over pollution norms and the violations with regard to the anti pollution plan.
Rai further accused the BJP ruled states in the northern region for deliberately working to increase Delhi's pollution.
