Beyond the Smog: GRAP and the Commission for Air Quality Management

The article states the activation of GRAP Stage 1 in Delhi-NCR when the levels of pollution increase, and the action, its performance, and the strategic position of CAQM in air governance.The headline "Beyond the Smog: GRAP and the Commission for Air Quality Management" refers to the comprehensive framework established to combat severe air pollution in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is the powerful statutory body responsible for implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a set of emergency measures triggered by escalating pollution levels.

Air pollution referenced to Delhi-NCR is a combination of the on-going and complicated environmental issues that are worsened by seasonal differences, urban air pollution, and weather conditions. As a reaction to the poor quality of air, specifically the recent rating of Delhi air as bad following a four-month hiatus, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 1 has been reinstated. GRAP is a legally established framework according to which a tier-based framework of emergency actions will be applied in terms of the actual level of the AQI. The solicitation of it is an indicator of proactive and corrective measures to prevent pollution in the form of automotive emissions, construction dust, and open burning of garbage.

The Article is a critical analysis of the structure, application, and effectiveness of GRAP and particularly concerning Stage 1 interventions. It also puts into perspective the role of the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM), which is a legal agency with the roles of coordinating and supervising the efforts of pollution control in the Delhi-NCR. Through investigating the working mechanism and the governance structure of the GRAP and CAQM, the article seeks to offer a complete insight into the management of air quality in Delhi.

What GRAP Is and Why It Is Important?

The Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP, is a legally required framework that is aimed at combating episodic air pollution in Delhi-NCR. It is functioning on a stepwise system of interventions depending on the actual air quality.

Legal Mandate and Genesis
GRAP was rolled out in the year 2017 as a result of an order of the Supreme Court of India, on the advice of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). It was conceptualized as a region-specific changing protocol to solve the alarming increase in air pollution incidents in Delhi-NCR. GRAP is a genuinely binding law that is currently under implementation at the oversight of the Commission to Air Quality Management (CAQM), formerly the EPCA. The fact that it is legally binding is the strength of the framework over previous advisory frameworks since their actions are obligatory and time-related.

Multi-level Structure and Trigger Process
GRAP has been designed in four levels of escalation, namely Stage I (Poor), Stage II (Very Poor), Stage III (Severe), and Stage IV (Severe+ or Emergency). All stages are implemented according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) standards that are set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). An example would be the triggering of Stage-I (AQI between 200-300) in Delhi (with 211 AQI). The plan dictates certain measures regarding each phase, starting with restrictions on construction and demolition, going through the restrictions on movements in vehicles, and industrial practices.

Effective Strategy in controlling pollution
GRAP is important because it is derived as a preventive intervention design and as a reactive design. It allows the governments to assume graded and pre-emptive steps before the pollution reaches a dangerous extent. It is especially important in the case of Delhi-NCR, where meteorological conditions (low wind speed and temperature inversion) contribute to the growth of pollutants during the winter months. GRAP ensures that there is a clear response protocol in place that institutionalizes the response, thus reducing administrative ambiguity and improving the level of inter-agency coordination. Besides, it offers an open system of communicating with the public and responsibility.

Drawbacks and the Requirement of Integration
GRAP is a panacea despite its systematic nature of approach. It is not commonly effective due to a lack of real-time enforcement and limited compliance by the masses, as well as a delay in implementation. Besides, GRAP only provides solutions to temporary-pollution outbursts, but not the pollution at the structural level of automobile air pollutants, biomass burning, and even the industries. Hence, it will be successful when combined with the long-term policy tools, such as urban planning reforms, clean energy transitions, and behaviour change campaigns.

Stage 1: Measures and Implications

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 1 has been triggered in the Delhi-NCR after the AQI was recorded to be 211, which is a re-entry into the range of poor since the last four months.

Activation Science
GRAP Stage 1 was triggered on 14 October 2025, due to developing air quality with a prolonged worsening situation when the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeded 200. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) assigns a rating to an AQI of 201- 300 as 'Poor'. According to the forecast reports of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), there would be a stagnant atmosphere, both in terms of wind speed and temperature inversion, favourable to pollutant build-up. The scientific tests were used to determine that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) could invoke Stage 1.

Prescribed measures
GRAP stage 1 requires a bundle of proactive measures to contain primary source pollution.

• They involve a prohibition on open waste burning, increased mechanization of road sweeping, and stringent control of dust at construction areas.
• Diesel generator sets can only be used in case of emergency and necessity.
• Moreover, the areas of traffic congestion will be selected and decongested with the help of real-time operations.
• It is also instructing the municipalities to improve services in the sphere of public transport and use cleaner fuels.

Implications
Administrative and societal implications of implementing Stage 1 measures could be developed. At the administrative level, it will require the concerted efforts of various stakeholders, such as municipal companies, traffic police, and the pollution control board. Public adherence is also important, particularly towards restrictions on burning waste and vehicle emissions. The ban on diesel generators could affect small corporations and houses, which is why there is a necessity to find other sources of energy. Besides, the enforcement visibility, i.e., the fines on the visibly polluting cars, is both a deterrent and a way of creating awareness among the population.

Strategic Implications and Constraints
Whereas Stage 1 represents the least acute in the GRAP model, its timely commencement is essential to avert additional degeneration. It is like a warning mechanism, and authorities can act before the levels of pollution become very high. Nevertheless, the success of the measures depends on strict compliance and community involvement. GRAP is still a reactionary, not a transformative instrument, without systemic reforms in the transport system, waste management, and energy consumption.

Key difficulties

Even though the concept of GRAP offers a formal answer to the pollution crises in Delhi-NCR, its actual implementation requires the power to enforce it, the population to adhere to it, and the governance problem of the system.

Assessing the Effect of GRAP
GRAP, Graded Response Action Plan, has provided a legally binding mechanism that can be used to address sporadic air pollution in the Delhi-NCR since that time, 2017. It is categorized in such a manner that the interventions could be carried out at an appropriate time when the AQI reaches a particular level. This is empirically established because estimations have shown that GRAP has enabled the containment of the peak of pollution at the critical periods, particularly when it is used in conjunction with the change of meteorological variations.

Inter-Agency Co-ordination
GRAP is highly based on the idea of multi-agency coordination, and this is one of the main problems of this organization. It will need to be done through concerted effort by the municipal structures, traffic officers, the pollution authorities, as well as the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM). Practically, this coordination is often impaired by bureaucratic inertia, shortage of resources, and overlapping of jurisdiction. An example is that, although a building halt can be proclaimed, the enforcement on the ground is usually slow, particularly in the peri-urban areas. The absence of real-time monitoring and accountability mechanisms also contributes to the further undermining of the deterrent effect of GRAP.

Communal Knowledge and Compliance
The other important constraint is a low rating of public perception and compliance with behaviour. The success of GRAP depends on the citizens' involvement, i.e., not burning open wastes, minimizing vehicular traffic, and also observing the guidelines on generators. However, communication on GRAP stages by the public is scattered and does not always appeal to vulnerable groups. GRAP need not suffer alone in the face of additional outreach and involvement since, without sustained outreach and civic involvement; it will continue to be viewed as a top-down administrative action but not a participatory environmental protection.

Long-term Solutions and Structural Gaps
GRAP, in essence, is a protocol made to not be a permanent solution but rather an emergency procedure. It fails to discuss the structural factors of pollution, e.g., dependency on fossil fuels, poor urban planning, and ineffective waste management. Additionally, GRAP has episodic characteristics whereby, when the AQI enhances, the measures are reversed usually before time. The analysts believe that GRAP should be combined with wider reforms, including clean energy transitions, an increase in public transportation, and regional emission inventories to guarantee that the air quality is improved in the long term.

Role of the CAQM

Even though the concept of GRAP offers a formal answer to the pollution crises in Delhi-NCR, its actual implementation requires the power to enforce it, the population to adhere to it, and the governance problem of the system.

Infrastructure Development and Capital
The Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM) is the highest level of statutory authority in the coordination and implementation of the air pollution control measures in Delhi-NCR, as well as in neighbouring areas.

Genesis of Institutions and Legal Authority
CAQM is under the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, in place of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). It was established in response to the reactive and partisan interests of the air pollution management in Delhi-NCR. In contrast to its predecessor, CAQM possesses extensive statutory powers, such as the ability to issue binding instructions to the state governments, pollution control boards, and other agencies. It has a jurisdiction of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, in which regional coordination of pollution control activities can be done.

Policy Incorporation and Strategy
The scope of CAQM is more than responding to emergencies like GRAP activation. It has the mandate of putting in place long-term air quality development strategies such as emission inventories, clean energy transitions, and sustainable transport planning. Implementation of sector-specific action plans, which include curbing stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, regulation of the emissions of industries, and electric mobility, is also carried out by the Commission.

Monitoring Infrastructure and Mechanisms of Enforcement
CAQM can issue fines, defer business, and start legal proceedingsagainst the violators of air quality standards. It liaises with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state pollution control boards to see to it that they monitor and enforce in real time. The installation of Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) and satellite-monitored surveillance to monitor the origin of pollution is also facilitated by the Commission. These procedures make it transparent and accountable in the management of air quality.

Difficulties and Future Perspective
Although CAQM has an extensive mandate, there is serious difficulty in inter-state coordination, harmonization of data, and involvement of the populace. There is a tendency to delay the implementation of the policies due to the number of stakeholders and the conflicting jurisdictions. In addition, the general populace of the country has little knowledge about the role of CAQM, and this has decreased civic engagement in the process of pollution management. The integration of mechanisms of citizen feedback, strengthening of the institutional capacity, and increased transparency are the keys to CAQM realising its transformative potential.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) are very significant institutional tools in the current changing air pollution governance structure in Delhi-NCR. The tiered structure of GRAP allows comfort to be provided in the form of timely, legally binding intervention in times of pollution, whereas CAQM serves as a source of strategic supervision and coordination on interventions on an interstate level. Nevertheless, these mechanisms can be effective only when they are effectively enforced, when they work on inter-agency levels, and when the topics continue to be discussed by people. The structural causes of air pollution, including vehicular emissions, industries, and biomass burning, cannot be effectively captured using episodic measurements only. GRAP, therefore, should be incorporated with long-term policy instruments, as well as being backed by an open observatory and citizen contributions. Due to the imminent new wave of pollution in Delhi-NCR, the intake of GRAP Stage 1 is both cautionary and an opening in order to enhance institutional reactions, cause behavioural transformation, and establish a more resilient and equal model of environmental administration. Such merging of emergency response with system recovery is essential to a sound city air quality.