Delhi was enveloped in a thick layer of smog on Sunday morning, with air quality levels plunging to “severe” levels, leaving residents struggling with poor visibility and health concerns. The dense haze, resulting from a combination of local pollution and seasonal crop burning in neighboring states, filled the city’s skies, raising alarms about Delhi’s ongoing air pollution crisis.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 428 at 8 am, categorizing it as “severe.” Visuals from around New Delhi Railway Station show the area completely covered in smog, while drone footage from AIIMS at 7:10 am reveals high-rise buildings shrouded in haze, drastically reducing visibility. At 7:30 am, drone shots from Mayur Vihar show the region immersed in thick smog, with pollution levels remaining dangerously high. In Patparganj, the AQI soared to 439, also classified as “severe” by the CPCB.
GRAP III in Delhi: Over Rs 6 crore in fines imposed on first day
With restrictions under the third stage of the anti-pollution Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) enforced from Friday, authorities ramped up measures against violators. Teams comprising traffic police, the transport department, and other officials issued fines to ensure compliance.
On the first day, Delhi Traffic Police issued approximately 550 challans for violations of the ban on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles, imposing fines exceeding Rs 1 crore. Violating this rule incurs a penalty of Rs 20,000. Additionally, diesel and petrol interstate buses, except BS VI diesel ones, traveling from NCR cities to Delhi, are also prohibited.
Further enforcement efforts targeted vehicles lacking valid Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC). Authorities fined 4,855 such vehicles on Friday, resulting in penalties totaling ₹4.85 crore. Drivers without a valid PUCC face a fine of Rs 10,000, with these challans being processed through the courts. These actions highlight intensified efforts to curb pollution under GRAP III and ensure compliance with environmental norms.
Haryana allows partial school closure
The Haryana government on Saturday granted deputy commissioners the authority to temporarily suspend physical classes for students up to Class 5 in schools within their respective districts due to increasing pollution levels. “Letters have been written to all the district deputy commissioners on behalf of the directorate of school education in this regard,” the state government’s department of public relations posted in Hindi on X.
In the letter, the directorate of school education wrote, “I have been directed to inform you that the government has decided that the concerned deputy commissioners shall assess the prevailing situation (as per the GRAP) in view of the severe AQI levels in Delhi and surrounding regions and may discontinue physical classes and issue necessary directions for holding online classes for upto Class 5th in the schools [government and private] in the interest of the health and safety of the students.”
“The assessment for rural and urban areas of the concerned districts may be carried out separately,” it added.