The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has closed down over 120 stone crushers and hot mix plants in Faridabad and Palwal districts till November 17.

• The move comes following the order of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to shut hot mix plants and stone crushers in view of a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
• While particulate matter (PM) 2.5 was 497 (hazardous) on November 9, the air quality falls in the “very poor” category in both districts.
• The CPCB has also asked the NCR authorities to go in for mechanised cleaning of roads and water sprinkling, particularly on road stretches with high dust generation potential.
• The apex pollution watchdog had said guidelines and standard operating procedures for dust mitigation at construction sites should be adhered to under the GRAP measures.

Stating that the governments of Punjab and Haryana had been asked to take immediate stringent actions to curb stubble burning and authorities in Delhi-NCR to check biomass burning, an official said the agencies had been told to comply with the NGT order banning firecrackers during the period.

About Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

• The action plan which was formulated in 2016 and notified in 2017 for Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
• The plan was formulated after several meetings were held by Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) with state government representatives and experts.
• These are institutionalized measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates, hence works only as an emergency measure.
• GRAP includes the measures which will be taken by different government agencies to prevent worsening of Air Quality of Delhi-NCR and prevent PM10 and PM2.5 levels to go beyond the ‘moderate’ national AQI category.
• If air quality reaches the severe+ stage, GRAP talks about shutting down schools and implementing the odd-even road-space rationing scheme.
• The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR areas).