With Delhi’s air quality plummeting to “severe+” for the first time this season, the Centre’s air quality panel on Sunday announced stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which will come into effect from 8 am on Monday.
The restrictions include a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects.
“The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 441 (Severe) at 4:00 PM today and has been gradually increasing further and has already reached Severe+ category, as thc AQI clocked 447, 452 and 457 at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 7:0O PM, respectively,” said the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Centre’s panel on Delhi-NCR air quality.
According to the order, no trucks will be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel.
Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for Electric Vehicles and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.
Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles are banned, except for those in essential services, the panel said.
