Towards Long-Term Clean-Air Strategy:
The Supreme Court India told the Centre that enforcing a perennial Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the year is not practical for the National Capital Region (NCR) air pollution and stressed the need for a long-term pollution strategy.
- At the same time, China’s offer to sahare its urban pollution control experience has renewed the discussion on lessons India could adopt from international best practices.
- GRAP offers a structured, graded system of interventions when Air Quality Index (AQI) breaches specific thresholds. This helps authorities react quickly when pollution spikes.
- Restrictions on construction, traffic, truck entry, and industrial activity temporarily lower particulate emissions during severe pollution episodes.
- By reducing physical classes, outdoor work, and vehicle movement during hazardous AQI levels, GRAP offers temporary relief to vulnerable groups.
- GRAP is reactive and episodic; it only activates after pollution crosses set limits, not before.
- It does not comprehensively prevent long-term sources like stubble burning, vehicular growth, or construction dust.
- Frequent bans on construction, restrictions on transport, and shutdowns disproportionately affect daily-wage earners, migrant labourers and small businesses, making perennial enforcement impractical.
- Pollution arriving from Punjab-Haryana stubble burning, dust storms, and neighbouring industrial belts cannot be solved by Delhi-centric restrictions.
- Once GRAP restrictions are lifted, pollution levels tend to rebound quickly because systemic reforms in transport, waste, agriculture, and industry remain incomplete.
