With winter season around the corner, Delhi-NCR is bracing for that time of the year when the region will stare at ‘air emergency.’ In a bid to prevent the recurring issue, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram has decided to implement measures in the revised Graded Response Action Plan from October 1st. The announcement regarding this was made on Tuesday.
The Environment and Sustainability wing of the MCG has said in a statement that all efforts have been made to maintain the Air Quality index within prescribed limits and to ensure that even with unfavorable weather conditions, the levels do not rise anymore. A number of measures are to be taken and made effective immediately from 01 October 2023. These measures are as per Revised Graded Response Action Plan for NCR by the Commission for Air Quality Management to tackle air pollution.
These measures are in brief and are to be carried out by Municipal Corporation Gurugram Stage by Stage along with responsible officers/team on a daily basis. A previous day’s action-taken report should also be made by 9 am everyday effective from October 1 onwards.
GRAP Stage I outlines various actions to address issues related to poor air quality. These actions include ensuring the proper implementation of guidelines to mitigate dust in construction and demolition activities, managing construction and demolition waste in an environmentally sound manner, regularly removing municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste, and hazardous waste from dedicated dump sites, preventing illegal dumping of waste on open land areas, conducting periodic mechanized sweeping and/or water sprinkling on roads, disposing of collected dust in designated sites or landfills, enforcing the use of anti-smog guns at construction and demolition sites, and increasing the use of anti-smog guns, water sprinkling, and dust suppression measures in road construction, maintenance, and repair projects.
Actions in Stage II of GRAP should be initiated at least three days before the Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to reach levels between 301 and 400. These measures include daily mechanical or vacuum sweeping and water sprinkling of identified roads, targeted efforts to reduce air pollution in recognized hotspots within the National Capital Region, and intensified remedial actions for sectors that significantly contribute to poor air quality in each hotspot. Additionally, the use of diesel generator sets of any capacity is prohibited during this stage.
Stage III of GRAP should be activated three days before the AQI is projected to exceed 400. If the AQI surpasses 450, Stage IV measures will come into effect.