CAQM tightens winter pollution rules across Delhi-NCR

The Commission for Air Quality Management has revised Delhi-NCR’s winter Graded Response Action Plan, removing exemptions for some older goods vehicles and extending restrictions on older cars to Sonipat. Separately, the Delhi government has announced a Winter Action Plan with vehicle checks, entry limits and construction controls scheduled to begin in the coming months. Under the revised GRAP framework, older goods vehicles carrying essential commodities or providing essential services will no longer be exempt from certain restrictions when specified pollution stages are triggered. The changes cover restrictions at Stages III and IV. Cleaner goods vehicles, including those meeting BSVI standards or running on CNG, LNG or electricity, remain permitted under the applicable rules, according to the reported framework. At Stage III, restrictions on BSIII petrol and BSIV diesel four-wheelers will also apply in Sonipat, Haryana. The measures already covered Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. GRAP is a set of emergency measures activated in stages as air pollution worsens or is forecast to worsen.