Source : PTI | The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas has modified the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) framework, bringing changes like the extension of restrictions on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel or below-standard LMVs (four-wheelers) to Sonipat in Haryana under GRAP-3.
Earlier, these restrictions were limited to only Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold. The first stage, GRAP-1, kicks in when the AQI is between 201 and 300; the second stage, GRAP-2, is invoked when the AQI is between 301 and 400; GRAP-3 kicks in between 401 and 500; and GRAP-4 is invoked when the AQI is more than 450.
The modifications were approved during the 30th meeting of the full CAQM on Monday, and announced on Tuesday. The last time the CAQM made such alterations in the GRAP framework was in November 2025.
The latest changes also include that under GRAP-1, no inter-city or inter-state buses — other than EV, CNG, BS-VI diesel — from any place in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and adjoining states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir will be permitted to enter Delhi-NCR. Previously, this measure was implemented under GRAP-2.
Moreover, the exemption for BS-IV and below goods vehicles carrying essential commodities under GRAP-3 and GRAP-4 has been removed.
The CAQM has also amended directions 11 to 18, issued in 2021, in the NCR. These directions pertained to construction and demolition activities falling within the territorial jurisdiction of urban bodies or municipal areas of the NCR.
For instance, they established an online monitoring mechanism through a web portal, and mandated registration of construction and demolition projects with plot area equal to or greater than 500 square metres.
Now, directions 11 to 18 have been extended to urban areas, controlled areas, development areas or industrial development areas, industrial areas or zones, and highway corridor zones in the NCR states.
