Several resident welfare associations (RWAs) in New Delhi on Thursday lashed out at the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) over its new plan to ban BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi if the air quality index (AQI) crosses 450. “This is a ridiculous policy. When there already is a policy for pollution under control (PUC) certificates and people are constantly pestered to get their PUC done, then why ban diesel vehicles,” RWA president of Defence Colony Ranjit Singh questioned.
The CAQM has comprehensively revamped the Graded Response Action Plan — a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in Delhi and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.
The revised plan, which is part of a new policy formulated by the CAQM, entails a ban on BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi and the bordering districts of NCR if the AQI breaches the 450-mark. Vehicles engaged in essential services are exempt.
B S Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs joint front, said instead of banning BS IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles, the PUC certification policy should be made more stringent.
“First, they pester citizens to get PUC done. If someone does not have a PUC, a fine of Rs 10,000 is imposed. Why did they introduce the PUC certification policy in the first place if they had to ultimately nullify it,” he asked.
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2017, comes into force in mid-October when air pollution levels in the region start worsening.