Delhi Police have stepped up inter-state coordination to enforce Stage-I of the Graded Response Action Plan and directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management, including tighter checks on non-compliant buses entering the National Capital Region.
An inter-state coordination meeting was held by the Delhi Traffic Police on October 22 under the chairmanship of Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary. Representatives of concerned departments, civic agencies and police authorities from neighbouring states and districts attended the meeting, according to a report by Millennium Post.
The meeting focused on implementing CAQM directions within the prescribed timeframe and improving enforcement at Delhi-NCR borders. Authorities reviewed measures covering vehicle restrictions, border checks and action against vehicles that do not meet the applicable requirements.
A key decision was to create a dedicated WhatsApp group for real-time coordination between the agencies involved. The group will be used to share instructions and monitor action taken by different departments and authorities, according to the report.
The enforcement plan places particular emphasis on preventing non-compliant inter-city and inter-state buses from entering Delhi-NCR. Such buses will be diverted at the borders, a measure intended to prevent them from entering the city and to curb pollution linked to vehicles that do not meet the prescribed standards.
Electric, compressed natural gas and BS-VI diesel buses will be permitted to enter, subject to the conditions prescribed by the authorities. The meeting also reviewed the arrangements required for vehicle checks and enforcement at the city’s entry points.
The coordination effort brings together traffic police, civic agencies and authorities from neighbouring states and districts, reflecting the inter-state nature of Delhi-NCR’s transport and air-quality challenges. Buses crossing regional boundaries are subject to enforcement by multiple agencies, making the sharing of instructions and action-taken reports a central part of the mechanism described at the meeting.
The directions are being implemented under Stage-I of GRAP, the graded framework used for action on worsening air quality in the region. The reported measures focus on restricting vehicles that do not comply with the applicable requirements rather than imposing a general ban on all inter-city bus movement.
Chaudhary stressed the need for coordinated action during the meeting. The next steps identified by the authorities are the activation of the dedicated communication channel, continued border checks and monitoring of compliance with CAQM directions by the participating agencies.
