The ban on use of generator sets, with exceptions for essential services, has been in force in Delhi since 17 October when the Supreme Court-empowered Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) launched several measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)’s “very poor” and “severe” categories to combat air pollution in the national capital region (NCR).

These measures, including a ban on generator sets in Delhi, will remain in force till 15 March 2018, according to the EPCA, even as the air pollution in the national capital has further deteriorated to “severe plus or emergency” category, which has now led to tougher measures under the GRAP.

The GRAP was framed by the Centre under the apex court’s orders to control air pollution in NCR under various categories of the National Air Quality Index (AQI).

A number of residents of Delhi, including elderly persons and people suffering from various health problems ~ especially those living in highrise buildings and housing societies ~ are however said to be irked by this continuing ban on gensets.

Some of these senior citizens might refrain from going downstairs for fear that they might get stuck in the elevators in the event of a power outage or electricity breakdown.

The environmentalists, however, strongly support the ban on gensets, maintaining that “Delhi does not suffer from power shortage” in the first place.

“Delhi doesn’t have a power problem. As compared to surrounding states, power situation is better here. Also, the ban on gensets was imposed mainly to discourage the use of disel-based generators in marriages and events. But if someone still needs it urgently, they can take special permission from Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) or can apply for temporary power connection,” Vivek Chattopadhyay, who works on air pollution with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said.

He pointed out that even authorities had not been given the permission to use generator sets in T20 cricket match at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on 1 November.

A CSE research associate, Polash Mukherjee, said, “Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab are power-surplus states. So, ideally, there should not be any problems. Besides, the EPCA has taken up the issue very strongly with the power companies to ensure adequate power supply in Delhi during this period of emergency measures. The Delhi power secretary has also given such assurances.”

Disagreeing with their views, Vikrant Tongad, an environment conservationist working with the Delhi-based Social Action for Environment and Forest (SAFE), said, “Sudden ban on gensets is definitely a genuine problem for people living in highrise buildings and housing soieties.The ban could have been avoided if the policy-makers and governments had worked throughout the year to tackle the alarming pollution situation prevailing in the national capital.”

The ban on gensets in Delhi involves a steep fine and even a jail term in the event of its violations.

Essential services like hospitals, nursing homes, railways, Metro, airports and Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) stations have been, however, exempted from it.