Work-From-Home, Vehicle Ban, Construction Halt: Inside GRAP-3 Curbs

Delhi woke up to another day of thick smog, with the city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 347, in the “very poor” range. Pollution levels, which touched a near-“severe” 392 on Sunday, showed only marginal improvement.

Many parts of the city, including Anand Vihar and Chandni Chowk, continued to record AQI readings close to 400. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has not yet enforced Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), though authorities say curbs could follow if pollution levels worsen.

What Is GRAP?

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a framework designed to tackle air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region through a tiered system of measures based on the severity of air quality. It outlines specific actions for four stages of pollution levels:

• Stage 1: Poor (AQI 201-300)
• Stage 2: Very Poor (AQI 301-400)
• Stage 3: Severe (AQI 401-450)
• Stage 4: Severe Plus (AQI above 450)

Under GRAP-3, when pollution reaches the severe category (AQI 401-450), stricter restrictions are enforced.

Restrictions Under GRAP-3

• Complete ban on non-essential construction and demolition activities, including earthwork, piling, trenching, and open-air operations of Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) plants.
• Prohibition on plying of BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel four-wheelers in Delhi and neighbouring NCR districts.
• Ban on transport of construction materials like sand and cement, especially on unpaved roads.
• Closure of stone crushers, mining, and hot-mix plants not running on clean fuel.
• Ban on diesel generator sets, except for emergency and essential services.
• Restriction on inter-state diesel buses entering or operating in Delhi.
• Advisory for private companies to implement work-from-home or hybrid mode to curb vehicular emissions.
• Closure of schools up to Class 5, with classes shifted to online mode to protect young children from toxic air.

Exemptions Of GRAP-3

Essential public projects such as railways, metro construction, airports, defence, sanitation, and healthcare facilities are allowed to continue under strict dust and waste management norms.

Area-wise AQI (Monday)

• Bawana: 412
• Jahangir Puri: 394
• Burari Crossing: 389
• Nehru Nagar: 386
• Chandni Chowk: 365
• Anand Vihar: 379
• Ashok Vihar: 373

Neighbouring cities, including Noida and Ghaziabad, saw only marginal relief.

Last year, the Supreme Court asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to enforce Stage 3 once the AQI touched 350 instead of 400. In December 2024, the CAQM revised the GRAP rules, moving several stricter curbs, like daily road cleaning, water sprinkling, limits on diesel generators, and polluting buses, to Stage 2. As a result, Stage 3 and Stage 4 restrictions will now be imposed only when the AQI crosses 400 and 450, respectively.