Delhi air pollution: Ban on trucks, construction lifted; parking fee hike rolled back

New Delhi, November 16 : Despite Delhi’s air quality continuing to be “very poor”, the ban on the entry of trucks and on construction activities was lifted on Thursday by the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), which also rolled back the hike in parking fees.
The measures, part of the Graded Response Action Plan, were enforced on November 8 after pollution levels had spiked, hitting the emergency category, accompanied by thick smog.
EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal wrote to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana this morning, directing them that the measures be lifted with “immediate effect” as the prevailing air quality does not warrant such tough action.
However, measures enforced under the GRAP’s ‘severe’ category including the closure of the Badarpur thermal power plant, ban on brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers will remain, the EPCA said. “We are watching the situation very carefully and we have been informed by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology that pollution may rise again because of increased moisture in the air in the coming days.