"Air pollution in Delhi-NCR is as much a problem of enforcement and inter-agency coordination as of emissions." Discuss with reference to GRAP and CAQM.

Delhi-NCR's winter smog comes from vehicles, road dust, industry and stubble fires spread across four states. The NCR already has a single regulator, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), set up under the CAQM Act, 2021 [6], and an emergency rulebook, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). So the gap now lies less in the rules and more in enforcing them and in getting agencies to act together.

Emissions: the root problem

• Many sources across states: a Parliamentary Standing Committee (401st Report) found the existing source-apportionment studies outdated and called for fresh ones [4].
• Winter temperature inversion and low wind speed trap these emissions, so the same load causes worse air in winter.

GRAP and CAQM: a strong framework on paper

• One statutory body for the whole airshed: CAQM replaces piecemeal action by individual states [6].
• Pre-emptive revisions: in December 2024, targeted actions were moved from Stages III–IV to Stages II–III [1]. The schedule was tightened again in September 2026 for vehicles and dust [2].

Enforcement gaps

• Non-compliance at scale: in 2025, more than 30,000 inspections led to action against over 250 construction sites and closure directions to 1,556 industrial units [3].
• Unspent funds: Delhi used only about 17% of its NCAP funds, the lowest among the states listed [5]. The constraint is the agencies' ability to spend, not money.
• Reactive approach: GRAP curbs apply only while the AQI is bad and are lifted once it improves, so pollution sources are not controlled year-round.

Coordination gaps

• Split responsibility: CAQM issues directions, but State Pollution Control Boards, municipal bodies, transport departments and police in four states carry them out. Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Ministry.
• State-by-state action: the Standing Committee urged airshed-level planning instead [4].
• Monitoring: the Committee also recommended upgrading manual monitoring stations and rationalising where they are located [4].

Emissions cause the problem, but enforcement and coordination decide whether the air actually improves. The way forward:

• a year-round airshed plan;
• a dedicated enforcement cadre with real-time compliance dashboards;
• time-bound NCAP spending;
• joint accountability reviews of all implementing agencies, as the Standing Committee envisaged [4].

Together, these would make the right to clean air under Article 21 real and advance SDG 11.6 on urban air quality.