Context: Stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) towns, as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Key highlights

• Diesel generator sets will no longer be used in Delhi and the NCR towns of Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Gurgaon.
• They will be used in case of emergency and essential services.
• Pollution control authorities will begin night patrolling to check for dust, industrial emissions, and burning of waste.
• Focus will be on mechanised sweeping and sprinkling of water on roads.

About Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

• Graded response action Plan was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 and notified in 2017 by the Central Government.
• It was formulated after several meetings of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts.

GRAP is controlled and managed by EPCA.

• The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan (NCR areas).
• It works only as an emergency measure. When the air quality shifts from poor to very poor, the measures listed have to be followed since the plan is incremental in nature.

Working of GRAP
Under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), there would be four types of alert levels, depending on the seriousness of the situation:
Level-1 (Yellow)

• Delhi will be at this level when the positivity rate is more than 0.5 per cent for two consecutive days.
• With 1500 new COVID-19 cases registered in one week and 500 patients require oxygen beds.

Level-2 (Amber)

• This will be applicable when the positivity rate remains more than 1 per cent for two consecutive days, with 3500 cases come within a week and 700 oxygen beds get filled.

Level-3 (Orange)

• At this level, the positivity rate will have to be more than 2 per cent for two consecutive days.
• With the number of new cases in a week must be 9000 with 1000 patients requiring oxygen beds.

Level-4 (Red)

• This will be applicable when the positivity rate is more than 5 per cent for two consecutive days.
• More than 16000 cases in a week and 3000 patients are admitted on oxygen beds.

Actions under GRAP

Restrictions at each level:

• Night curfew will be imposed in a Level-1 alert.
• In addition to night curfew, weekend curfew will be applied on Level-2 and Level-3 alerts.
• There will be a complete curfew during a Level-4 alert.
• Decisions on domestic travel and inter-state travel will be taken according to the need and situation.
• At any level of alert, schools, colleges, and educational institutions will remain closed.
• Religious institutions will open. No public gatherings will be allowed.