Ghaziabad orders hybrid classes for students up to Class 5 amid ‘poor’ air quality, GRAP-3 curbs

The Ghaziabad district administration on Wednesday directed schools to operate in hybrid mode till Class 5, wherever possible, under the GRAP-3 measures in place curb rising air pollution.

The district administration also extended the ban on all public and private construction and demolition activities till November 20. Further, directions were issued to carry out mechanical sweeping and water sprinkling at double the current capacity. The decisions were taken following a meeting under the chairmanship of the district magistrate (DM), and was attended by officials from relevant departments, according to a press release.

Ghaziabad's air quality index (AQI) was in the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday, with a reading of 297 as of 4 pm on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In the CPCB scale, an AQI reading of 0–51 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 is ‘moderate’, 201–300 is ‘poor’, 301–400 is ‘very poor’, and 401–500 is considered to be ‘severe’. The CPCB maintains that readings above 500 fall in the same ‘severe’ health risk category.

Stricter implementation of GRAP-3 curbs

In the meeting chaired by the Ghaziabad district magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar, which aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of the directives under GRAP-3, directions were issued to ensure compliance to the ban on construction and demolition activities.

Mandar directed relevant agencies – including the Municipal Corporation, Ghaziabad Development Authority, all municipal councils, the Housing Development Board, and the Public Works Department – to form at least 5 teams each. These teams would be required to conduct regular inspections in their respective jurisdictions to ensure that no construction activity of any kind is taking place.

The DM also issued instructions stating that in cases of non-compliance, the senior officials of the concerned departments will be held accountable and appropriate action would be taken against them.

The district basic education officer was directed to that classes up to Grade 5 in all schools across the district are conducted, as far as possible, in a hybrid mode. The DM instructed instructed officials from all relevant departments to carry out the recent orders on a top-priority basis, warning that “negligence or apathy” regarding these prevention measures would not be tolerated, the press release stated.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Municipal Corporation, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), all municipal councils, the Housing Development Board (Awas Vikas Parishad), the Public Works Department (PWD), and of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO), and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board