Delhi air pollution: AQI in ‘very poor’ category at 371; pollution board to plug enforcement gaps

Delhi air pollution: The air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the ‘very poor’ category – an improvement from the hazardous levels from earlier in the week. On Friday, the air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 371, which is in the similar range as Thursday’s 379. On Tuesday the air quality had deteriorated to nearly 500. 

According to SAFAR-India, Alipur recorded an AQI of 389, while Anand Vihar recorded 410, Ashok Vihar 395, Bawana 411, Burari Crossing 369, Dwarka Sector 8 380, IGI Airport 357, ITO 344, Jahangirpuri 426, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 342, Lodhi Road 267, Mandir Marg 356, Mundka 402, Najafgarh 353, Narela 383, North Campus DU 346, Okhla Phase 2 374, RK Puram 372, Rohini 397, Shadipur 402, Siri Fort 359, Vivek Vihar 398, and Wazirpur 413 among others.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good,’ 51-100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 ‘moderate,’ 201-300 ‘poor,’ 301-400 ‘very poor,’ 401-450 ‘severe,’ and above 450 ‘severe plus.’

DELHI AIR POLLUTION

Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued directives to improve enforcement of pollution control measures in the National Capital Region (NCR), including speeding up the verification of fire incidents and taking stricter actions against violators under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The CAQM held its 18th Sub-Committee meeting on Wednesday to review enforcement actions by NCR state governments, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), and Punjab. The meeting focused on strategies to combat air pollution during the ongoing enforcement of GRAP, according to a statement released on Thursday.

Key directives were issued to address enforcement gaps. Punjab and Haryana were instructed to reconcile discrepancies in Environmental Compensation (EC) cases and expedite fire incident verifications within 24 hours. They were also urged to strictly implement measures to prevent paddy stubble burning.

All Delhi-NCR states were directed to intensify inspections, halt construction and demolition activities as per GRAP guidelines, and take stern action against violators. Special drives were mandated to impound End-of-Life (EoL) vehicles and penalise those without valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates.

Authorities were also instructed to resolve citizen complaints on social media and apps promptly, tagging CAQM for monitoring. Daily reporting on GRAP-related actions was made mandatory.

The commission emphasised stricter compliance with Supreme Court directives on brick kiln regulations, improved waste management to curb biomass and municipal solid waste burning, and better management of traffic congestion points. Officials were warned of strict accountability under the CAQM Act for any enforcement lapses, the statement added.