Chandigarh: Haryana now has to decide on the closure of schools/ colleges/ educational institutions, ban on plying of four-wheeler diesel vehicles, allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home, and the closure of all industries in the district under the Stage 4 guidelines of Grap.
“As per the forecast, the AQI in Delhi is likely to be in the ‘severe+/severe’ category in the next couple of days owing to calm winds and stable atmospheric conditions. Therefore, in an effort to prevent further deterioration of air quality, the Grap sub-committee decided that all actions as envisaged under Stage 4 of Grap be implemented in right earnest by all agencies concerned,” CAQM said in its order.
An AQI reading between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, said that the administration will decide on the enforcement of Grap Stage 4 actions after a meeting with the pollution board and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Faridabad on Friday.“We are aware of the rising pollution level and we will enforce guidelines under Stage 4 of Grap after a meeting with the pollution board and the Haryana chief minister on Friday,” he said.
Haryana now has to decide on the closure of schools/ colleges/ educational institutions, ban on plying of four-wheeler diesel vehicles, allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home, and the closure of all industries in the district under the Stage 4 guidelines of Grap.
Yadav said that the Haryana pollution board forwarded the CAQM directions issued on Thursday to all deputy commissioners of NCR districts. “We will release a detailed press note on Friday with clarity on schools, industries and work from home if required,” he said.
CM Khattar affirmed that the state government will announce their decision on Friday. “We will implement the guidelines required in Gurugram and Faridabad districts,” he said.
Meanwhile, authorities appealed to the public to not venture out.On Thursday, three functional AQI monitors of four in Gurugram all recorded severe AQI levels at 407 (Gwal Pahari), 420 (Sector 51) and 402 (Teri Gram) at 12pm. The AQI kept deteriorating as the day progressed.
Experts attributed the deterioration in air quality to increased stubble burning activities in Punjab and other parts of Haryana and meteorological conditions unfavourable to the dispersion of pollutants. The AQI in most parts of Delhi-NCR had already hit the “severe” category on Tuesday but was recorded in the upper end of the “very poor” category in Gurugram.
