Uttar Pradesh government has asked all the districts, particularly of National Capital Region( NCR), to comply strictly with Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) instructions.

State Chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh in a meeting held late last night with all the Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates through video conferencing gave necessary guidelines to be followed strictly.

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On the issue of air quality, the Chief Secretary has specifically instructed the eight District Magistrates of NCR, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Shamli, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Baghpat, Gautam Buddha Nagar, to keep a watch.

He said that the instructions of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) should be followed. Under the instructions of the Supreme Court if AQI is 449 in any district, then Group 4 should be strictly followed there. ”Do not wait for AQI to be 450 or 451. Strict compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court should be ensured,” he instructed.

The CS said that officers of departments concerned should also be sensitised about the guidelines. ”Roads should be cleaned daily and solid waste should be collected daily. Water should be sprinkled. Fog machine should be used for this. All types of construction work should be banned. The effect of the actions should be visible on the ground,” he stressed.

The Chief Secretary said that there are 2.63 crore farmers in the state, hence first, work of reduction should be done and then reflection on the action taken.

”In the scientific part due to which air quality is affected, number one is burning of biomass. This biomass is what cooks food in homes. It is made by burning straw and wood. This is the biggest contributor. Second is your vehicle pollution and third is animal excreta. In the districts where incidents of stubble burning are increasing, people should be made more aware not to burn stubble. After this, action should be taken against the people concerned if they do not follow,” he said.

He said the demand for Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilisers is increasing rapidly in potato producing areas. DAP is available in sufficient quantities in the state as per demand. ”Keeping this in mind, DAP should be allotted by the Agriculture and Cooperation Department. Special monitoring should be done on sensitive districts regarding fertiliser. Complaints of smuggling and black marketing should not be received from anywhere,” he pointed out.

He said that preparations for night shelters should be started from now in all the districts. There should be no traffic chaos on the road due to fog. Strict action should be taken against those who create traffic jams.

State Director General of Police Prashant Kumar, Agriculture Production Commissioner Monica S Garg, Additional Chief Secretary Home Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary Agriculture Ravindra, Principal Secretary Urban Development Amrit Abhijat and other senior officers were present in the meeting.