Restrictions under Grap-3 to continue till air quality improves: Gopal Rai

Delhi Minister for Environment Gopal Rai said that restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan-3 will continue till air quality improves in the city.

This comes after the National Capital continued to experience 'very poor' air quality on Thursday morning, with an air quality index (AQI) of 324, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR-India).

Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday urged people to be careful and continue to follow the rules as stages 1, 2, and 3 of GRAP are still in place to tackle air pollution in the national capital.

Speaking to ANI about the high levels of pollution in the city, the senior Aam Admi Party leader said that construction works other than those of national importance are being "prohibited" in the city.

"The way wind speed is low, scientists believe that it can improve further. The government has taken the decision that until air quality improves, GRAP 3 will continue in Delhi..."

"Other than the construction work of national importance, other construction works are prohibited. Linear projects are going on," the senior AAP leader said.

This was after the restrictions under GRAP-4 were lifted earlier in the month following an improvement in the air quality.

The restrictions were revoked by the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management), permitting trucks and buses except for BS-3 and BS-4 petrol and diesel vehicles to enter the city and lifting the ban on ongoing construction activities.

As per the data from the CPCB recorded at 6:00 am on Thursday morning, the Air quality index at Anand Vihar was at 387 (very poor); At ITO, Delhi it was 343 (very poor) while the AQI at Wazirpur, Delhi, was 422 (severe), at RK Puram, it was 415 ( severe).

Similarly, the Air Quality Index recorded at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning at Okhla Phase-2, Delhi, was 406 (severe).

The Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.