- BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel vehicles have been banned from plying in Delhi-NCR due to the severe air pollution level.
Delhi is facing severe air quality due to environmental pollution again, which propelled the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to reimpose restrictions under the third stage of anti-pollution measures GRAP. Due to this move, the plying of BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel vehicles in the Delhi-NCR has been banned alongside the banning of all non-essential construction works in the national capital region.
The anti-pollution panel has stated that the CAQM sub-committee for the operationalization of GRAP called an emergency meeting on Sunday morning in view of the sudden deterioration of the air quality of Delhi-NCR from Saturday evening. The sub-committee has decided to invoke an eight-point action plan as per Stage III of the revised GRAP in the entire national capital region with immediate effect.
The air quality in Delhi deteriorated to severe for the first time in 2024 due to the low temperatures owing to the cold wave. The low wind speed over the last 48 hours has further accelerated the pollution level in the national capital, which prompted the CAQM to reimpose restrictions on BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel vehicles.
This is the third time, CAQM has imposed such measures this winter, effectively banning BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel four-wheelers from plying in the national capital region including cities such as Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. Under this restriction, the heavily overloaded trucks, BS3 and BS4 emission norm-compliant light motor vehicles have been banned from plying in the region during the previous instances.
Besides the severe air pollution level, Delhi is also reeling under the severe cold conditions as the minimum temperature in the city has dropped to 3.5 degrees Celsius, which is the lowest this winter. Affecting vehicular movement is the dense fog as well, which is bringing down the visibility for the motorists significantly.
First Published Date: 14 Jan 2024, 13:14 PM IST