Delhi : The use of electricity generators run on diesel, petrol or kerosene is banned in the National Capital (Delhi) region on October 15 onwards.
As the air pollution is increasing in NCR due to due to the onset of the winter and stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) issued directions on banning the use of generators on Wednesday from Thursday till further orders, under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
However, DPCC exempted emergency services such as healthcare facilities, elevators, railway services, Delhi Metro, airports and interstate bus terminals and the data centre run by the National Informatics Centre.
“DPCC hereby bans the operation of generator sets of all capacities, run on diesel, petrol or kerosene in Delhi with effect from October 15 till further orders, excluding those used for essential or emergency services,” an official release said.
The decision was made after a day as the national capital’s air quality on Tuesday deteriorated to the “very poor” category for the first time this season.
The air quality index was not likely to improve for the next two days, stated the government-run monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, or SAFAR.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has also written to Union power minister seeking closure of 11 thermal power stations around Delhi, which contribute majorly to pollution in the city and its neighbouring areas.
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The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 274 at 10:30 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 300 on Tuesday. The AQI had hit very poor levels on Tuesday morning and stood at 306 at 11 am, which was the worst since February. Thereafter, the pollution levels dipped slightly due to an improvement in the ventilation index.
With Inputs from PTI
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