New Delhi – The Commission for Air Quality Management has sparked widespread criticism after Grap 3 restrictions revoked on Wednesday despite Delhi’s Air Quality Index remaining at 327, firmly in the ‘very poor’ category. The controversial decision came during the capital’s 21st consecutive day of hazardous air quality, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of pollution control measures.
Timing of Decision Raises Eyebrows
When Grap 3 restrictions revoked at 4pm on Wednesday, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 327 according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin. While this represented a marginal improvement from Tuesday’s 353 and Monday’s 382, the reading marked the 21st straight day of AQI above 300, tying for the fifth-longest pollution streak since monitoring began in April 2015.
The CBCP classifies air between 301-400 as ‘very poor’, a level that causes respiratory discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure. This fact was acknowledged at the Supreme Court on Wednesday when the Chief Justice and senior lawyers narrated their own experiences with breathing difficulties in the capital.
Insufficient Explanation From CAQM
CAQM’s order announcing that Grap 3 restrictions revoked didn’t adequately explain the rationale behind its move. The commission seemed to suggest that marginal AQI improvement and its new stringent Grap norms announced on November 21 warranted moving to a lower category, despite forecasts showing AQI would continue being ‘very poor’.
“The AQI of Delhi has been improving since the last three days and has been recorded at 327 today. Further, the forecast by the IMD and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology predicts AQI to remain in the ‘very poor’ category in the coming days,” the CAQM sub-committee stated while announcing that Grap 3 restrictions revoked after being imposed on November 11.
Expert Criticism of Premature Action
Air pollution expert Mukesh Khare from IIT Delhi strongly criticized the timing when Grap 3 restrictions revoked. “We know temperatures are dipping and the AQI keeps fluctuating at this time of the year. November, December and January are crucial months and we should not jump the gun during such months, unless there is rain and considerable improvement,” he stated.
Khare emphasized the illogical nature of the decision: “There is not much difference between an AQI of 320 or an AQI of 350. We cannot normalise slightly lower values and this decision feels illogical.”
Citizens Demand Stricter Measures
The decision that Grap 3 restrictions revoked laid bare a disconnect between scientific data, the commission’s approach, and citizen demands. Hours before CAQM’s announcement, the East Delhi Federation of Residents’ Welfare Associations Joint Front called existing stages “ineffective” and demanded even stricter measures.
BS Vohra, the federation president, argued: “As things stand, we need stages 5 and 6 of Grap to be formulated, which have stringent measures. The AQI keeps fluctuating and therefore there is a need for an action plan for this.” The group proposed prohibiting non-essential public movement, allowing markets to function only on alternate days, and making public transport temporarily free.
What Changes After Revocation
Now that Grap 3 restrictions revoked, private construction and demolition, mining and allied activities can resume across NCR. Restrictions on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel light motor vehicles have been lifted with immediate effect. Schools no longer need to operate in hybrid mode, and the requirement for offices to function at 50% capacity with work-from-home arrangements has ended.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced Wednesday evening: “Under this, the 50% Work From Home arrangement in offices has been discontinued, and the hybrid mode currently running in schools has also been shut down.” Notably, the office restriction had been in place for just three days, implemented by the Delhi government on Monday.
Supreme Court’s Earlier Guidance Ignored
The timing appears contradictory to Supreme Court guidance from November 19, when the court endorsed CAQM’s plan to make Grap more proactive. “We are of the view that any proactive action in reducing air pollution would always be welcome. We expect the CAQM, while taking such action, to consult all stakeholders,” stated then Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran.
However, meteorological experts attributed the marginal improvement to variable wind direction, which reduced stubble smoke intrusion, and wind speeds between 5-10 km/hr that allowed slight pollutant dispersion rather than any policy intervention.
Monitoring Data Reliability Questioned
The decision that Grap 3 restrictions revoked comes amid questions about Delhi’s monitoring network reliability this season. Missing station data has followed a pattern, with more gaps occurring during polluted hours than clean ones, systematically understating air quality problems. Issues began during Diwali when several stations went blank at critical hours, including an unexplained blackout on November 10.
Environmental activist Vimlendu Jha criticized the move sharply: “While the AQI levels of entire Delhi, despite sprinkling of water on the monitors, is in the ‘severe’ category at many stations, it has decided to pull off even the band-aid called Grap.”
Sunil Dahiya from Envirocatalysts noted that while activities cannot be suspended indefinitely, current pollution levels remain far from breathable, requiring continued strict action on highly polluting sources.
