Delhi Enforces GRAP-3 Measures As Poor AQI Continues To Choke NCR | What Are The Restrictions?

After two suffocating days of “severe” air quality and more than two weeks of persistently “very poor” air, members of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) finally initiated Stage-3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across the National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday. The decision comes as residents grapple with dangerously polluted air, with health experts and citizens decrying the delayed enforcement of stricter anti-pollution measures. Stage-3 of Grap, which goes into effect at 8 am on Friday, imposes 11 new restrictions targeting two primary sources of urban pollution: emissions from older vehicles, as well as dust generation from construction and demolition activities (C&D). CAQM’s sub-committee, responsible for activating Grap, convened to implement measures only after Delhi’s air quality remained in the “severe” range for 48 hours and amid growing public frustration.