The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday announced the immediate implementation of Stage-II actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR, following a deterioration in air quality to the ‘Very Poor’ category. These measures are aimed at curbing further pollution levels in the city. This directive comes ahead of Diwali on Monday, October 20, when pollution levels are expected to rise further in the national capital. Earlier, GRAP Stage-1 measures were implemented on October 14 after the AQI breached 200 mark and entered poor category.
Authorities have been directed to enforce all relevant actions under Stage-II of the GRAP schedule without delay, in addition to the measures already in place under Stage-I.
Implementation of actions under Stage-II (‘Very Poor’ Air Quality) of the extant schedule of GRAP comes into immediate effect in Delhi-NCR, with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/MMsqReAkCN
— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2025
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CAQM in an official release, stated that the meeting of Sub-Committee on GRAP was held today to review the air quality scenario in the region. It was noted that the AQI of Delhi was showing an increasing trend since morning with possibility of further deterioration. In view of this, the Sub-Committee decided to invoke all actions under Stage-II of GRAP.
“The AQI of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning and has been recorded as 296 at 4:00 PM and 302 at 7:00 PM. The forecast by IMD/ITM also predicts further deterioration of AQI in coming days. The Sub-Committee, accordingly decides to invoke all actions under Stage-II (‘Very Poor’ Air Quality) of the extant GRAP in the entire NCR, with immediate effect, in addition to the Stage-I actions already in force,” the statement noted.
Actions Under GRAP Stage 2
As part of GRAP Stage 2, CAQM has further directed to carry out mechanical/vacuum sweeping and water sprinkling of the identified roads on a daily basis. The Commission has urged to increase parking fees, an increase in frequency of bus and metro services and strictly implement regulated operations of DG sets across all sectors to conserve power while also ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity. “Ensure water sprinkling along with use of dust suppressants (at least every alternate day, during non-peak hours) on roads to arrest road dust especially at hotspots, heavy traffic corridors, vulnerable areas and proper disposal of dust collected in designated sites/landfills,” CAQM stated.
