Air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Plain needs an airshed-level approach rather than city-centric emergency measures. Discuss with reference to CAQM and GRAP.

The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) shares one airshed. In winter, calm and cold air traps emissions from vehicles, dust, stubble and firecrackers across the whole region [1]. India's main response is the four-stage Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), enforced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). It is a city-triggered emergency tool: needed, but not enough.

Limits of city-centric emergency measures

• Short-lived curbs: Stage III was invoked on 16 January 2026 and revoked within days, with CAQM citing its "disruptive" effect on the public [2]. Episodes often end because the weather changes, not because emissions fall [1].
• Delhi-based triggers: Stage thresholds follow Delhi's AQI (Stage I: 201–300; Stage III: 401–450) [3] but apply to the entire NCR [4]. This is too wide for NCR towns and too narrow for Punjab or Bihar.
• Jurisdiction mismatch: CAQM's reach covers the NCR, while the smog covers the IGP [1][4].
• Enforcement gap: The 27-point Stage I plan is carried out by the State Pollution Control Boards and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee [5]. Many of its actions, such as PUC checks, are laws that already apply all year.
• Livelihood cost: Construction bans and 50% office attendance hit daily-wage earners hardest [3].

Where CAQM and GRAP add value

• Statutory coordination: CAQM can direct several States to act "with immediate effect" [1].
• Pre-emptive learning: GRAP can be invoked on forecast AQI [1], and revisions in 2024 and 2025 moved curbs to earlier stages [3][6].
• Judicial backing: The Supreme Court kept Stage IV in force even after AQI fell below 450 [6].
• Every region still needs a safety net for bad-weather days.

Towards an airshed approach

• Global precedent: Beijing's PM2.5 fell by about 35% (2013–17). This came from controls on coal and vehicles, alongside gains in the surrounding region [7]. The World Bank-backed Hebei programme targeted emissions from industry, dust and vehicles [8].
• For the IGP:
• an inter-State compact covering Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with shared PM2.5 targets;
• State PCBs enforcing "Stage I" rules all year, with CAQM publishing compliance audits after each episode;
• local AQI triggers, plus income support for workers during curbs.

GRAP is a safety net that has become, in practice, the main policy. Linking it to NCAP and to airshed-wide targets for permanent pollution sources would turn reactive firefighting into lasting clean air. This would uphold the right to life (Article 21) and SDG 11.6.