Is GRAP enough to curb pollution?

Why in the News

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) tightens curbs stage by stage as Delhi’s air worsens, yet Delhi’s mean winter Air Quality Index (AQI) rose from 280 in 2022-23 to 295 in 2025-26. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has now invoked Stage I in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has found “no consistent” improvement over four winters.

What is GRAP, and what does each stage restrict?

1. What it is: GRAP is a set of short-term emergency curbs that tighten as pollution rises, like a multi-level fire alarm. The CAQM declares stages on recorded or forecast pollution.
2. Four stages: Each stage is tied to an AQI band, where a higher AQI means worse air. The higher stages are invoked mostly in winter:
   • Stage I, ‘Poor’ (201-300): existing norms are strictly enforced, such as no diesel generator sets as a regular power source;
   • Stage II, ‘Very Poor’ (301-400): the second alert level;
   • Stage III, ‘Severe’ (401-450): construction and demolition stop, and Bharat Stage (BS) III petrol and BS IV-or-older diesel cars are barred in Delhi and five High Vehicle Density (heavy-traffic) districts;
   • Stage IV, ‘Severe+’ (above 450): the construction ban tightens, and only BS-VI, electric, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks may enter Delhi.
3. Binding directions: The CAQM directs Delhi and the NCR districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to act with “immediate effect”. It can act against officers who do not comply.
4. The takeaway: GRAP’s strength is that one body can make the whole region act together on a bad-air day.

How did GRAP’s enforcer change from EPCA to CAQM?

1. Origin: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change first notified GRAP in January 2017, on Supreme Court directions to match graded measures to air quality.
2. EPCA era: The Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), formed by the Supreme Court in 1998, first implemented GRAP. No law backed it, so it could not act against authorities that ignored its orders.
3. Statutory successor: In 2021 the CAQM, a body created by law under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, replaced EPCA.
4. Stricter over time: Revisions, some after Supreme Court criticism, have made GRAP more stringent.

Why has GRAP not cleaned Delhi’s winter air?

1. Weather traps pollution: Low winter wind speeds and temperatures let pollution build up over Delhi-NCR and the Indo-Gangetic Plains.
2. Seasonal add-ons: Autumn stubble burning (farmers torching crop residue) and festive firecrackers add to emissions from vehicles and dust.
3. Short-term by design: GRAP cuts pollution sources only during spells of very bad air, so it cannot by itself lower the winter average.
4. Averages above 2022-23: Even after GRAP’s 2022 revision, the latest winter’s mean and median AQI were both above 2022-23 levels.

What is different this winter?

1. Season-long Delhi rules: A Delhi government notification of June 23 imposes winter curbs that, unlike GRAP, apply whatever the air quality.
2. Outside vehicles barred: From November 1 to January 31, non-Delhi vehicles below BS-VI standards cannot ply in the capital, except electric, CNG, emergency and sovereign duty vehicles.
3. Parking charges doubled: From November 1 to February 28, authorised parking charges double, except at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) sites.
4. GRAP prevails: Where GRAP orders and the Delhi notification conflict, GRAP takes precedence.

Challenges

1. Fragmented enforcement: Pollution crosses State borders, but enforcement varies by State and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) only advises.
2. Delhi-only vehicle rules: Delhi’s season-long curbs stop at its border, but the NCR’s polluted air does not.
3. Livelihood costs: Managing crop residue without burning costs farmers money, with no assured buyer, so burning continues.

Way Forward

1. Inter-State compacts: The CAQM should set binding inter-State compacts with shared emission targets and joint GRAP triggers.
2. Residue markets: States should fund bio-refineries and pellet plants with guaranteed purchase of crop residue.
3. Year-round source control: The CAQM should prioritise clean fuels, in-field (in-situ) residue management and dust control over reactive bans.

Conclusion

GRAP gives Delhi-NCR fast emergency curbs, but flat winter AQI readings show that curbs on bad days do not lower the season’s pollution. Whether this winter’s extra Delhi curbs move the average, and whether NCR States copy them, is what to watch.

Key numbers

1. Mean winter AQI, 2023-24: 304.
2. Mean winter AQI, 2024-25: 285.
3. Median winter AQI, 2022-23 and 2025-26: 294 and 305.
4. Median winter AQI, 2023-24 and 2024-25: 324 and 289.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2016] In the cities of our country, which among the following atmospheric gases are normally considered in calculating the value of Air Quality Index? 1. Carbon dioxide 2. Carbon monoxide 3. Nitrogen dioxide 4. Sulfur dioxide 5. Methane Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1, 2 and 3 only (b) 2, 3 and 4 only (c) 1, 4 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 ANSWER: (b)”