CAQM: Graded Response Action Plan revised, stages need orders

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued a revised Graded Response Action Plan for the National Capital Region on 29 September 2026, specifying that restrictions under each stage would apply only when that stage was invoked through a separate order. Direction No. 104 distinguishes between the revised framework taking effect immediately and individual pollution-control measures becoming applicable. ^[1]

That distinction matters for Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi: the direction establishes how the regional response is to operate, but does not itself announce the activation of a particular stage. Its circulation list includes the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, Ghaziabad Development Authority, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board and authorities in Delhi. ^[1]

GRAP is a framework of preventive and restrictive measures applied at different levels of air quality. The commission said its purpose includes preventing further deterioration during adverse weather conditions, with action taking account of both prevailing and anticipated pollution levels. ^[1]

Revised framework requires separate activation orders

The commission issued the direction under Section 12 of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. As the direction explains, that provision empowers CAQM to take measures and issue directions to protect and improve regional air quality. ^[1]

CAQM said its GRAP subcommittee had reviewed the existing schedule and proposed revisions to measures within the different stages. The review considered implementation experience, pollution-control developments and the need for timely preventive action. The commission retained the overall graded-response framework while issuing the revised schedule. ^[1]

The direction places implementation duties on the Delhi government, NCR state governments, central ministries and departments, pollution-control boards, urban local bodies and development authorities. Each must enforce the measures applicable within its jurisdiction when the relevant stage is invoked. ^[1]

It also requires project proponents, industries, commercial establishments and other covered entities and people to comply with the measures that apply to them upon invocation. The operative distinction is therefore between adopting the schedule and activating obligations under a particular stage. A statement about which restrictions apply on a given date needs the relevant activation order, not merely the September direction. ^[1]

Ghaziabad plan assigns work across agencies

A separate Ghaziabad air-pollution action plan prepared by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board identifies vehicles, road dust, construction and demolition, industries, garbage burning and agricultural-waste burning as pollution sources. The document contains monitoring data from 2013 to 2018; it provides historical context, rather than evidence of conditions in October 2026. ^[2]

The plan divides work between transport, municipal, development, agriculture and pollution-control authorities. Its transport measures include enforcement against polluting vehicles, checks on parking outside designated areas, road improvements to reduce congestion and promotion of battery-operated vehicles with charging facilities. These are listed actions, not a record establishing that each was completed. ^[2]

For road dust, the document proposes maintaining pothole-free roads, paving road shoulders and creating green buffers along traffic corridors. It also assigns the municipal corporation the use of treated sewage effluent for watering plants and sprinkling to suppress dust. This places road maintenance and municipal operations alongside vehicle-emission enforcement in the city’s response. ^[2]

The waste-burning section calls for drives against open burning, regular checks on municipal waste fires, separate collection of horticultural waste and composting. It assigns agricultural-waste and crop-residue burning enforcement to the Agriculture Department and the state pollution-control board. ^[2]

For industrial emissions, the plan lists conversion of brick kilns to zigzag technology and installation of air-pollution-control equipment in factories. It also describes monitoring emissions from industrial stacks and issuing a show-cause notice before closure action where an industry violates standards. A show-cause notice gives the recipient an opportunity to explain the alleged breach. ^[2]

Reading an AQI bulletin without losing its date

CPCB’s NCR bulletin dated 6 January 2024 illustrates the importance of the observation period attached to an air quality index, or AQI, figure. The bulletin identifies its readings as averages of the preceding 24 hours, reported at 4 pm. It also states that an average is used to indicate a city’s AQI when that city has multiple monitoring locations. ^[3]

That bulletin separates the index value, air-quality category and prominent pollutant into different fields. Its entries belong to the stated reporting period; they do not establish present-day conditions in Greater Noida, Ghaziabad or Delhi. The date and averaging period are therefore necessary parts of any comparison based on those entries. ^[3]

The historical Ghaziabad plan uses another measure: annual average concentrations of PM10, particles smaller than 10 microns, expressed in micrograms per cubic metre. Those annual concentration measurements should not be presented as daily AQI readings. They describe a different quantity over a different period. ^[2]

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s National Clean Air Programme document, published in 2019, explains why local action also requires regional coordination. It says pollution can affect cities and towns far from its source, requiring cooperation between states and cities as well as across sectors. ^[4]

The September 2026 CAQM direction assigns enforcement responsibilities across that regional network. Whether a specific GRAP stage has been activated remains a separate question, answered by the order invoking it. ^[1]

References

1. Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas. Direction No. 104: Revised Schedule of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for NCR. 29 September 2026.
2. Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Regional Office. Action Plan for the Control of Air Pollution in Ghaziabad City.
3. Central Pollution Control Board. Air Quality Index in NCR City/Town. 6 January 2024.
4. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India. National Clean Air Programme. 2019.