New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Friday that while restrictions under Phase 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP 3) have been withdrawn, on-site pollution control measures will continue unabated across the capital.
Sirsa said the decision to raise the curbs of GRAP 3 was taken by the sub-committee of the Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM) following significant improvement in air quality in Delhi. He stressed that law enforcement agencies have been directed to maintain sustained activity at the field level without slackening in monitoring or enforcement.
According to an official statement, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) showed a sharp turnaround, improving from 380 to 236 within 24 hours. Bawana recorded an AQI of 141, placing it in the “good” category and highlighting the impact of intensified anti-pollution efforts.
Noting that GRAP 3 restrictions were lifted on Friday, the minister said the improvement was due to ongoing measures targeting major sources of pollution, including vehicle emissions, industrial waste, road dust and open dumping.
“We are encouraged by the improvement, but this is not the time to relax our efforts. Ground operations will continue with equal vigor to consolidate the gains made so far,” Sirsa said.
Data shared by the environment ministry showed that enforcement agencies have carried out extensive anti-pollution drives across Delhi in the last 24 hours. As many as 6,596 challans were issued for vehicular emission violations and nearly 12,000 metric tonnes of garbage was removed from various parts of the city.
Officials said 6,261 km of roads were mechanically swept to reduce dust levels and 2,315 metric tons of construction and demolition waste were collected and transported for scientific disposal. Furthermore, 405 inspections were carried out at illegal landfills, resulting in 156 enforcement measures.
To reduce traffic pollution, 40 traffic jams were eased on major corridors and 99 light motor vehicles were penalized for violating entry norms.
Sirsa added that pollution control teams continue to focus on source-level mitigation, including compliance checks at industrial clusters and deployment of smog guns and anti-smog vehicles at high-traffic areas and identified hotspots. He said measures such as bio-mining of old waste at a rate of 35 metric tons per day, along with the expansion of clean technologies in the industrial and transportation sectors, are beginning to yield measurable results.
Reiterating the government’s decision, the minister said Delhi’s fight against air pollution continues, with agencies strengthening and adapting their response daily to ensure cleaner air for residents.
