Delhi Air Pollution News Updates: Construction Banned in NCR as AQI Turns ‘Severe’; Non-Essential Vehicles from Noida Cannot Enter Delhi

Delhi Air Pollution News Updates: In view of severe air pollution in Delhi, the Noida Traffic Police on Saturday announced restrictions on the entry of certain vehicles, including commercial and private ones, into the national capital from its borders. While the restrictions on selected category of vehicles will be from DND, Chilla Border and Kalindi Kunj sides, they will be provided a diverted route for going to their destinations, according to an advisory.

The air pollution in Delhi ameliorated from severe to very poor on Saturday due to favourable wind speed and a dip in the contribution of stubble burning. The 24-hour average air quality index stood at 381, a considerable improvement over the AQI of 447 a day ago, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

It had jumped to 450 on Thursday, just a notch short of the ‘severe plus’ category, prompting the authorities to invoke the final stage of anti-pollution curbs, including a ban on non-BSVI diesel light motor vehicles.

Here are the top updates on Delhi air pollution:

• Construction activities banned as air quality turns severe in Ghaziabad. Post implementation of GRAP-3 in NCR, private construction activities are banned. Industries being regulated&Rs15 lakhs fine to be levied for disobeying rules. Notices being issued to rule-breakers, an official told news agency ANI.

• Pathankot only district in Punjab with no farm fires so far: At a time Punjab is witnessing a rising number of stubble burning incidents, Pathankot is the only district which has not seen a single farm fire so far this season. It has become possible because of a massive awareness drive launched by the district administration against paddy straw burning, a senior agriculture official told news agency PTI.

• Pathankot, a border district, saw 28 farm fires in 2016, 12 in 2017, nine in 2018, four in 2019, 11 in 2020 and six in 2021. Pathankot grows paddy over 28,500 hectares of land and generates around 1.35 lakh metric tonne of stubble every year.

• Stubble burning continues in Bathinda, Punjab.

• Even as the Delhi government sprung up in action to control the pollution levels, the measures taken by the authorities under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan were labeled as “ineffective” by many environmentalists who also opined that it might be a “little too late” to impose these ban. Read our analysis here.

• Air quality continues to dip in Delhi-NCR. The Air Quality Index (AQI) presently at 349 in Noida (UP) is in ‘Very Poor’ category, 304 in Gurugram (Haryana) also ‘Very Poor’. Delhi’s overall AQI currently in ‘Very Poor’ category at 339

• The air quality is likely to slip back into the severe category on Sunday morning due to shallow fog and improve thereafter, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather.

• According to the advisory, the entry of BS-3 (petrol) and BS-4 (diesel) light four-wheeler vehicles to Delhi via Noida will remain restricted from DND, Chilla Border and Kalindi Kunj routes.

• “All trucks except those providing essential goods or services or those running on CNG or electric power are prohibited from entering Delhi via Noida,” the advisory stated. “Entry for diesel-operated medium goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles except those engaged in essential goods and services is prohibited,” it added.

• The traffic advisory stated that all these vehicles can instead use the Yamuna Expressway or the Eastern Peripheral Expressway via Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to reach their destination as alternative routes.

• The hazardous pollution levels prompted the Delhi government to announce on Friday that primary schools would remain shut from Saturday and 50 per cent of its staff will work from home, while private offices have been advised to follow suit.

• A six-member panel chaired by the special commissioner of transport has been set up to monitor the implementation of curbs on anti-polluting activities. Revenue commissioners have been asked to prepare a plan for staggered timings of markets and offices.

• In a bid to reduce vehicular emissions, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai urged the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to take measures to divert trucks carrying non-essential goods on peripheral expressways to avoid traffic jams at the capital’s borders.

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