CAQM removes exemptions for older goods vehicles under strict GRAP stages

Older goods vehicles carrying essential commodities will no longer be exempt from curbs once the two strictest stages of Delhi-NCR’s pollution-control plan kick in. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has removed the exemption for BS-IV and below vehicles under Stages III and IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).The Citizens Charter under each stage has been revised with additional dos and don’ts. (HT File Photo)The change is part of a revised GRAP schedule approved by the CAQM Full Commission at its meeting on Monday. It removes the exemption for light and medium goods vehicles (LGVs and MGVs) at Stage III, and for trucks and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) at Stage IV.To be sure, similar curbs have been in place before. The commission had imposed them through separate orders issued on top of GRAP last year.“We had issued orders on top of the existing GRAP restrictions earlier. But now we have formalised these restrictions by including them in GRAP,” an official aware of the matter said. “State governments can refer to these and are also welcome to implement directions beyond these as well.”Also Read:Delhi CM attends meeting with Union environment minister on pollution measuresOne such order restricts older goods vehicles entering Delhi throughout the year. In October 2025, CAQM amended one of its directions and under it, commercial goods vehicles registered outside Delhi were barred from entering the city since November 1, 2025 unless they are BS-VI, CNG, LNG or electric. BS-III and below vehicles were shut out whatever they carried. BS-IV vehicles got a one-year transitional window, which ends on October 31, 2026.The revised GRAP also spells out, under Stage III, the restriction on entry into Delhi of diesel BS-IV and below LGVs and MGVs registered outside the city.Addressing a press conference, CAQM member-technical Dr SD Attri said the revised schedule has 48 actions across the four stages: 25 under Stage I, eight under Stage II, 10 under Stage III and five under Stage IV.Actions related to diesel generator sets, and to the entry of BS-IV and below buses from NCR and adjoining states, have moved from Stage II to Stage I, so they apply at an earlier stage of pollution.Restrictions on plying BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers have been extended to Sonipat. They already apply in the high vehicle density districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.The schedule merges repeated Stage I measures on dust control, municipal solid waste management and transport. It also allows a minor relaxation under the first Stage III action, including for repairing potholes.The Citizens Charter under each stage has been revised with additional dos and don’ts.Separately, CAQM has extended web-portal registration and monitoring of dust-control measures to eligible construction and demolition sites beyond municipal limits. This covers urban areas, controlled areas, development and industrial development areas, industrial areas and zones, and highway corridor zones.The existing threshold of 500 square metres of plot area remains unchanged.The commission also noted its advisory of September 10, which asks that physical sports competitions scheduled in NCR in November and December be rescheduled to protect students’ health. It also reviewed its 2026-27 plantation targets: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have exceeded theirs, while Haryana’s NCR districts have met half, planting 6 million against a target of 12 million.