Delhi-NCR air quality remains 'very poor' despite action against errants; stubble burning recorded in Uttar Pradesh

Delhi’s air pollution level remained in the “very poor category” on Saturday, with the Air Quality Index remaining between 300 and 400. While PM 2.5 levels had come down to 177 they remained within the ‘very poor’ category a well as PM 10 levels which were recorded at 334 as of 9 am, according to EPCA.

Air quality in Wazirpur was recorded “severe” with an AQI of 411 for the area. Ashok Vihar and Bawana were also among the worst-performing areas, with AQI’s of 366 and 393, respectively. In Lodhi Road area, PM 2.5 was at 228 and PM 10 at 273, according to ANI.

As authorities warned that the air quality would severely deteriorate from next week, MyRightToBreathe, a citizen’s group shot off a letter to the EPCA, suggesting additional steps that could be taken to curb pollution, which included putting in public domain emission levels from all industries in Delhi-NCR and urging employers to encourage office-goers to work from home till 10 November.

State bodies are taking extreme steps to control the pollution levels in the national capital. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation said around 1,582 challans were issued for violations in the zones under it. Deputy commissioners of 14 police districts in the national capital were directed to ensure no temporary licences are issued for sale of firecrackers till the PESO-approved crackers were available in the market.

The environment ministry on Thursday launched the trial run of five buses fitted with air-filters , which trap the pollutants in the air, as a pilot project. Designed by Faridabad-based Manav Rachna Innovation and Incubation Centre (MRIIC), the project proposes to ply 30 more such buses in Delhi. The buses flagged off on Thursday are meant to carry school children.

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot Friday launched a trial run of an e-bus and said the Delhi government had plans to float tenders for 1,000 electric buses by December so that the zero-emission vehicles are rolled out in the next five to six months.

The Delhi Traffic Police on Thursday fined 315 vehicles for plying without valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC), a senior police officer said.

The overall Air Quality Index of the national capital was recorded at 370 on Friday, which falls in the “very poor” category, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The overall PM2.5 level was recorded at 210. Fine particulates can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres). As per data issued by the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the PM10 level in Delhi stood at 334.

On Friday, Wazirpur, Sonia Vihar and Ashok Vihar had recorded “severe” quality air while 28 other areas recorded “very poor” air quality, according to the CPCB data. Faridabad recorded an AQI of 406, which falls in the “severe” category, while Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida recorded “very poor” air quality.

An official said there was a special focus on the regions recording “severe” quality air and teams deployed to monitor violations were conducting inspections at various such sites to check incidents of garbage or industrial waste burning.

The air quality in the Delhi-NCR region on Saturday is not too different from that of Friday, where the AQI dipped to remain in the “very poor” category, after authorities detected stubble burning in Uttar Pradesh for the first time this season after Punjab and Haryana.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), an institute under the Earth Sciences Ministry, had said on Friday the highest fire count was observed from the north-west region of India, which comprises Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh. The IITM had said there was no possibility of improvement in the air quality over the next two days.

“Contribution from biomass fire is likely to be marginal on Friday and further for the next two days. Because of poor dispersion and stagnant meteorological conditions, no significant improvement is likely for the next two days,” it had said.

Pollution control authorities said the AQI of Delhi would remain in the upper range of the “very poor” category till 5 November, and thereafter, it could see severe deterioration due to unfavourable meteorological conditions. According to the SAFAR, 9 percent of PM2.5 pollution in Delhi is caused due to stubble burning.

There is a halt on all construction activities involving excavation. Civil construction has also been suspended in Delhi and other NCR districts, besides closure of all stone crushers and hot mix plants generating dust pollution.

In a meeting held on Thursday, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik had directed all DCPs to ensure that Supreme Court guidelines on pollution control are implemented fully. There were a total of 4,385 such cases in October, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Alok Kumar said.

Around 177 vehicles were fined for carrying uncovered building material and amount of Rs 3,54,000 collected as penalty in October.

At the border check-posts of Delhi, a total of 70,480 vehicles were checked, out of which 1,738 vehicles, which were not destined for Delhi, were made to turn back and take other routes to reach their destinations, Kumar said.

So far this year till 31 October, a total of 1,89,290 vehicles were checked and 391 of those were impounded as they were “over-age”, he said. Further, to decongest city roads, reduce the travel time of motorists, save fuel and reduce pollution, a total of 10,23,156 vehicles were fined for obstructive and improper parking, the joint commissioner of police said.

With inputs from PTI