No respite for Delhi as air quality remains 'very poor'

New Delhi, Nov 10 With the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading 335, the national capital’s air remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday morning, despite the slight improvement.

The pollution hotspots in the city where AQI remains above the city's average showed a marginal improvement from Saturday’s readings too, but are yet nowhere close to the safe margins.

On Saturday, some stations including Bawana, New Moti Bagh, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, and Wazirpur recorded 'severe' pollution levels with AQI exceeding 400.

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

However, in a step to mitigate the effects of unhealthy air, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), tasked with improving air quality in Delhi-NCR, has directed intensified actions to remove highly polluting end-of-life (EoL) vehicles (petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years) still reported to be plying in Delhi.

A meeting was headed by the CAQM Chairperson to review the progress and effectiveness of the actions being implemented under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), particularly in air pollution hotspots and other designated priority areas across Delhi.

The importance of strict and uncompromising enforcement was underscored and it was emphasised that immediate and firm action must be taken against any violators, ensuring accountability at all levels.

The Commission underscored the need for a more proactive approach in dealing with complaints, as delays in resolving issues also hinder the effective implementation of air quality management measures.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been specifically instructed to comprehensively review the parking fee structure in public parking spaces in order to encourage the use of public transportation.

Source: IANS