New Delhi, Delhi implemented Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan later this year than in previous years, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Wednesday, adding that the government was prepared with preventive measures, including restrictions on polluting vehicles, staggered office timings and work-from-home arrangements, to combat winter air pollution.
Enforcement against end-of-life vehicles will also be strengthened. Sirsa said the government was adopting both short- and long-term measures under its 11-point air pollution mitigation plan, involving nearly 30 agencies working together to tackle pollution. To reduce vehicular emissions and peak-hour congestion, 50 per cent of employees in government and private offices will work from home, while office timings will be staggered. Municipal Corporation of Delhi offices will function from 8.30 am to 5 pm, while Delhi government offices will operate from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
Sirsa said the city had gone longer than usual without GR restrictions this year, attributing the improvement to the Rekha Gupta-led government’s sustained efforts and public participation. The long-term measures include eliminating road dust through end-to-end road carpeting, promoting electric vehicles and phasing out polluting fuel-based industries in Delhi-NCR, Sirsa said. As part of the winter pollution-control measures, the government will enforce the “No PUCC, No Fuel” rule from November 1, denying fuel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate.
The minister’s remarks came as the Commission for Air Quality Management on Wednesday imposed Stage I of GR across Delhi-NCR after the capital’s air quality slipped into the ‘poor’ category.
