The air quality in Delhi turned ‘severe plus’ over the weekend with a toxic haze descending in many areas. Authorities have imposed stringent measures under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan — with schools moving mandatorily online on Monday. Environmental Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has laid the blame squarely with the previous Aam Aadmi Party government and insisted on Tuesday that it would take some time to ‘fix’ the situation.
“It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it,” he said.
No fuel for vehicles without PUC
The Delhi government also decreed on Tuesday that vehicles would not be allowed to refuel unless they held a valid pollution control certificate. The change will come into effect from Thursday — affecting petrol pumps across the national capital.
“After tomorrow, vehicles that do not have a valid PUC certificate will not be provided fuel,” Sirsa reiterated.
The current GRAP IV rules also ban the use of BS-III petrol vehicles and BS-IV diesel vehicles from operating in Delhi-NCR. Authorities have also prohibited BS-IV diesel trucks from entering Delhi. Only BS-VI diesel, CNG, LNG, or electric trucks are currently allowed entry into the city.
Toxic haze envelops Delhi
Air quality in the national capital saw a slight improvement with an AQI of 377 on Tuesday morning. The number is an improvement from the 498 recorded a day ago. Smog continued to blanket the city and reduce visibility as residents shivered at 8.3 degrees Celsius during the morning hours.