Air Quality Index

Description

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Context: CAQM holds an urgent review meeting with officials from NCR State Governments and Pollution control boards considering the sudden increase in Delhi's AQI.

Details:

What is the AQI and how does it calculate pollution?

Launched as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign, the AQI was to help simplify the common understanding of pollution.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, part of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the AQI transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.
The pollutants measured include PM 10, PM 2.5, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Carbon, etc.
There are six or eight pollutants in the affected air and each of these pollutants is given a weight based on a formula. That weight depends on the kind of impact it has on human health.
The worst of these weights is given as composite air quality, so instead of giving you six different numbers, and six different colours, it throws up one single colour, one single number to denote the overall impact.
Monitoring stations across the country assess these levels.
AQI is a number, which is a measure of air quality. The higher the AQI, the worse the air.
The colour-coded AQI index was launched in India in 2014, and it helps the public and the government understand the condition of the air and what subsequent measures are to be taken to combat the situation, based on its severity.
There are six categories of AQI, namely ‘Good’ (0-50), ‘Satisfactory’ (50-100), ‘Moderately polluted’ (100-200), ‘Poor’ (200-300), ‘Very Poor’ (300-400), and ‘Severe’ (400-500).

What is the Graded Response Action Plan?

GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.
Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 and notified in 2017, the plan was formulated after several meetings that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts.
The result was a plan that institutionalised measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates.
GRAP is incremental in natureand thus, when the air quality dips from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor,’ measures listed under both sections have to be followed.
Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300),
Stage 2 is when it’s in the ‘Very poor’ category (301-400),
Stage 3 is when the AQI is the ‘Severe’ category (401-450) and finally
Stage 4 is when it rises to the ‘Severe +’ category (more than 450).

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021

Adjoining areas have been defined as areas in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, adjoining the National Capital Territory of Delhi and NCR, where any source of pollution may cause adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.
It dissolves the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority established in the NCR in 1998.
An Ordinance establishing a similar Commission was promulgated in October 2020. It lapsed in March 2021 and was repromulgated in April 2021. The Bill repealed the 2021 Ordinance.

Key features of the Bill include:

Composition: The Commission will consist of:

(i) a Chairperson, (ii) an officer of the rank of a Joint Secretary as the member-secretary and Chief Coordinating Officer, (iii) a serving or former Joint Secretary from the central government, (iii) three independent technical members with expertise in air pollution, and (iv) three members from non-government organisations.

The Chairperson and members of the Commission will have a tenure of three years or till the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.

The Commission will also include ex-officio members: (i) from the central government and concerned state governments, and (ii) technical members from Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Space Research Organisation, and NITI Aayog. It may also appoint representatives of certain ministries.

Selection of Commission: The central government will constitute a selection committee to recommend appointments of members of the Commission. The Committee will be headed by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Members of the Committee will include the Cabinet Secretary and the Minister of: (i) Commerce and Industry, (ii) Road Transport and Highways, and (iii) Science and Technology.

Functions of the Commission: Functions of the Commission include: (i) co-ordinating actions by concerned state governments (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), (ii) planning and executing plans to prevent and control air pollution in NCR, (iii) providing a framework for identifying air pollutants, (iv) conducting research and development through networking with technical institutions, (v) training and creating a special workforce to deal with issues related to air pollution, and (vi) preparing action plans such as increasing plantation and addressing stubble burning.

Powers of the Commission: Powers of the Commission include: (i) restricting activities influencing air quality, (ii) investigating and conducting research related to environmental pollution impacting air quality, (iii) preparing codes and guidelines to prevent and control air pollution, and (iv) issuing directions on matters including inspections, or regulation which will be binding on the concerned person or authority.

The Commission will be the sole authority with jurisdiction over matters defined in the Bill (such as air quality management). In case of conflicts, directions of the Commission will prevail over the orders of the respective state governments, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), state PCBs, and state-level statutory bodies.

Sub-Committees: The Commission is required to form sub-committees on: (i) monitoring and identification, (ii) safeguarding and enforcement, and (iii) research and development.

Penalties: Contravention of provisions of the Bill, or orders and directions of the Commission will be punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, or fine of up to one crore rupees, or both. Appeals against the Commission’s orders will lie with the National Green Tribunal