PM's Principal Secy chairs task force meeting on air quality in NCR

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PK Mishra chaired a high-level task force meeting on air quality in the NCR.

The Principal Secretary emphasised the need to shift to cleaner fuels and EVs and develop EV Charging facilities.

Meanwhile, the States were also asked to control stubble burning; biomass management and shift to alternate crop varieties to improve air quality.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Secretaries of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi along with Secretaries of GOI and Commission of Air Quality management (CAQM).

Earlier in the morning, the air quality in the national capital was recorded in the 'moderate' category, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research SAFAR-India.

The air quality index (AQI) at Lodhi Road is satisfactory at 72, while at the Pusa Road area, it is moderate at 159.

The AQI near Delhi University was recorded at 313 in the 'very poor' category, and 212 in Noida (UP) which is again in the poor quality zone. The air quality in Delhi's Anand Vihar was recorded as poor with an AQI of 257, while in the Bawana area, it was recorded at 347, which is again in the poor zone. The R K Puram area recorded an AQI of 214, at Dwarka-Sector 8 it was recorded at 219, while at Narela it was at 285, all in the poor category.

With the air quality index in Delhi dropping to the 'poor' level earlier on October 6, authorities in the National Capital Region (NCR) were asked to strictly implement measures under Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

This included a complete ban on the use of coal in roadside eateries, hotels and restaurants.

The Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. There are six AQI categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. Each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints).

According to the AQI scale, the air quality check between 0 and 50 are considered "good", 51 and 100 are "satisfactory", 101 and 200 are "moderate", 201 and 300 are "poor", 301 and 400 are "very poor", and 401 and 450 are "severe" and "severe+" when AQI exceeds 450.

Earlier, the Centre's air quality panel directed authorities in the National Capital Region to enforce a ban on coal usage in hotels and restaurants and take punitive measures against polluting industries and thermal power plants as the air quality in Delhi plunged into the "poor" category.

This action came as part of the government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP) which is implemented in the Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution during the winter season.