GRAP Stage 1 is now in force in Delhi-NCR: what it means, and the bigger winter curbs due from November 1

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday imposed Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi and the National Capital Region after Delhi’s air quality slipped into the ‘poor’ category. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) rose to 244 at 2 pm on October 21, from 179 a day earlier, according to the commission’s order, India Today reported. Forecasts from the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology indicate that the air is likely to stay poor over the coming days.

GRAP is a set of pre-agreed measures for Delhi-NCR that tighten as pollution worsens. It has four stages pegged to Delhi’s AQI: Stage I for ‘poor’ air (201–300), Stage II for ‘very poor’ (301–400), Stage III for ‘severe’ (401–450) and Stage IV for ‘severe +’ (above 450). Each higher stage is added on top of the earlier ones, and a CAQM sub-committee can invoke a stage in advance if forecasts show the AQI heading there.

Stage I is mostly about enforcing existing rules more strictly. Under the schedule CAQM revised on September 29, agencies must enforce dust-control rules at building sites, and construction or demolition projects on plots of 500 sq m or more cannot go ahead unless they are registered on the government’s dust-monitoring web portal. Open burning of biomass and garbage is prohibited, coal and firewood cannot be used in tandoors at hotels, restaurants and open eateries, and police are told to check PUC certificates and impound or fine visibly polluting vehicles.

Stage I also restricts diesel generators. They cannot be used as a regular source of power, and small portable sets are allowed only for listed emergency services such as hospitals, railways, the Metro and airports. Inter-city and inter-state buses entering Delhi-NCR from neighbouring states must be electric, CNG or BS-VI diesel.

The commission also asks residents to follow a citizen charter at this stage: keep vehicle engines tuned and PUC certificates up to date, switch off engines at red lights, prefer public transport or car-pooling, avoid diesel generators except for essential needs, and report polluting activity through apps such as SAMEER, Green Delhi and 311.

Separately, the Delhi government’s Winter Action Plan, announced by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, applies from November 1 to February 28. Its biggest change for commuters: petrol and diesel vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet BS-VI emission standards will be barred from entering the city from November 1 to January 31. CNG and electric vehicles are exempt. Parking charges at authorised sites will double, except at Delhi Metro parking.

The plan also directs government and private offices to have half their staff work from home and staggers office hours: Municipal Corporation of Delhi offices will run from 8.30 am to 5 pm and Delhi government offices from 10 am to 6.30 pm. A complete ban on dust-generating demolition and outdoor construction is planned from December 10 to January 20, and the ‘No PUC, No Fuel’ rule continues. “Delhi is acting early and firmly against winter pollution,” Gupta wrote on X.

What happens next depends on the AQI. If Delhi’s air is forecast to turn ‘very poor’, above 300, CAQM can invoke Stage II, whose measures are added on top of those already in force.