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The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) on Sunday, rolling out heavy diesel-based restrictions, including a ban on diesel-run light commercial vehicles (LCVs) registered outside Delhi and those not conforming to BS-6 emission norms from entering the Capital with immediate effect.
The CAQM, a statutory body responsible for developing strategies to combat pollution in the region, invoked Grap stage 4 in addition to stages 1, 2 and 3 to control Delhi’s deteriorating air quality, which was in the “severe” zone for the fourth consecutive day.
The measures under stage 4 also prevent trucks carrying non-essential goods from entering Delhi, along with a ban on diesel-run medium goods vehicles (MGVs) and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) plying in the city.
The CAQM had banned diesel BS-4 and all BS-3 private cars since November 2, when Grap stage 3 was enforced.
On Sunday evening, the Delhi transport department issued a notification saying it was implementing Grap stage 4 under section 115 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
“There will be no entry for truck traffic into Delhi (except for trucks carrying essential commodities/ providing essential services and all LNG/CNG or electric trucks). There will also be no entry for LCVs registered outside Delhi, other than EVs/CNG/ BS-VI diesel, to enter Delhi, except those carrying essential commodities/providing essential services. There is further a ban on plying of Delhi- registered diesel-operated Medium Goods Vehicles (MGVs) and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) in Delhi, except those carrying essential commodities/providing essential services,” the order said, adding that essential commodities included raw vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, eggs, ice and petroleum products.
Taxi drivers’ associations, meanwhile, said the blanket ban does not take into account the pollution under control (PUC) status of individual vehicles, and will impact the livelihood of thousands of drivers. Car operations should not be stopped if they have valid PUC certificates, they said.
“What is the point of issuing the PUC certificates by charging money if they have no utility? Pollution is caused by stubble burning and construction, and vehicles with valid PUC should not be banned. So many taxi operators have been issued challans worth ₹20,000. Delhi has a large number of commercial vehicles with All India Tourist Permits and this ban disrupts our operations every year,” Sanjay Samrat, who heads the Delhi Taxi and Transporters Association.
According to the action taken report by the transport department, fines worth ₹2.3 crore have been imposed on BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel vehicles between November 2 (when stage 3 was invoked) and November 4.
A total of 1,153 challans were issued out of which 162 were by the transport department and 953 by the traffic police. As many as 114 teams have been deployed to enforce the Grap measures including bike patrolling teams, border entry points, teams dedicated to pollution hotspots, inner/outer ring roads, etc.
“What is the point of issuing the PUC certificates by charging money if they have no utility? Pollution is caused by stubble burning and construction, and vehicles with valid PUC should not be banned. So many taxi operators have been issued challans worth ₹20,000. Delhi has a large number of commercial vehicles with All India Tourist Permits and this ban disrupts our operations every year,” Sanjay Samrat, who heads the Delhi Taxi and Transporters Association.
According to the action taken report by the transport department, fines worth ₹2.3 crore have been imposed on BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel vehicles between November 2 (when stage 3 was invoked) and November 4.
A total of 1,153 challans were issued out of which 162 were by the transport department and 953 by the traffic police. As many as 114 teams have been deployed to enforce the Grap measures including bike patrolling teams, border entry points, teams dedicated to pollution hotspots, inner/outer ring roads, etc.
Vehicles are currently estimated to be the second-highest pollutants in Delhi, only behind stubble burning. Data from the Decision Support System (DSS), under the ministry of earth sciences, estimated 23.4% of Delhi’s PM2.5 to be coming from stubble burning on Sunday, followed by 14.8% from vehicular emission
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