Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, called CAQM, is a statutory body (a body set up by a law of Parliament) that manages air pollution in Delhi and the nearby region. It covers the NCR and adjoining areas of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Its directions are binding, and it is the main authority on air quality in this region.

Why was it needed?

Delhi's air pollution does not stay within Delhi's borders. Smoke from stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, dust from construction in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and factory and vehicle smoke all travel across state lines. Before CAQM, many bodies worked on the problem: the CPCB, five state pollution control boards, state governments and a court-appointed authority.

Nobody was fully in charge, so states often blamed each other. Think of a building where each floor has its own guard but no head of security. CAQM was created to be that single head, with power over all the "floors".

Where did it come from?

The journey has several steps:

• 1998: The Union environment ministry set up the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the NCR on the Supreme Court's directions in the M.C. Mehta case. EPCA could advise and push action, but had limited legal power.
• January 2017: The environment ministry notified the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR, following Supreme Court orders in the M.C. Mehta case in 2016.
• October 2020: The Centre created CAQM through an ordinance (a temporary law made by the President when Parliament is not in session). It lapsed in March 2021 and was issued again in April 2021.
• August 2021: Parliament passed the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 (Lok Sabha on 4 August, Rajya Sabha on 5 August). The Act dissolved EPCA and made CAQM permanent.

Who is in the CAQM?

It is a mix of officials, experts and civil society:

• A full-time Chairperson.
• A Member-Secretary (Joint Secretary rank) who is also the Chief Coordinating Officer, and a serving or former Joint Secretary of the central government.
• Three independent technical members with expertise in air pollution.
• Three members from non-government organisations working on pollution.
• Ex-officio members from the central government and from the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Technical members from the CPCB, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NITI Aayog.

Members serve for three years or until the age of 70, whichever is earlier. They are selected by a committee headed by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with the Cabinet Secretary and the Union Ministers of Commerce and Industry, Road Transport and Highways, and Science and Technology.

What powers does it have?

The Act gives CAQM strong powers:

• It can restrict or ban activities that affect air quality, such as certain industries, construction or diesel generator use.
• It can inspect sites, investigate, carry out research and set codes and guidelines.
• It can issue binding directions to any person, officer or authority.
• Where its orders clash with those of a state government, the CPCB or state pollution boards, CAQM's orders prevail on matters covered by the Act.
• Penalty: Breaking its orders can lead to imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to ₹1 crore, or both.
• Farmers are kept out of these penalties for stubble burning. Instead, CAQM can collect environmental compensation (a money charge) from farmers who burn stubble.
• Appeals against its orders go to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

How does GRAP work?

GRAP is CAQM's main emergency tool. It is a set of steps that start automatically as the Air Quality Index (AQI) worsens:

• Stage I, "Poor" (AQI 201 to 300): Basic steps like dust control on roads and construction sites and a ban on open waste burning.
• Stage II, "Very Poor" (AQI 301 to 400): Limits on diesel generators, higher parking fees to discourage private vehicles.
• Stage III, "Severe" (AQI 401 to 450): Ban on most construction and demolition, limits on some older vehicles.
• Stage IV, "Severe+" (AQI above 450): Ban on entry of most trucks into Delhi, stop on construction including public projects, and options like closing schools or work from home.

CAQM revised GRAP and the revised plan came into force across NCR from 1 October 2023.

Commonly confused concepts

• CAQM vs EPCA: EPCA (1998) was set up on the Supreme Court's orders and was mainly advisory. CAQM (2021) is created by an Act of Parliament, has binding powers and penalties, and replaced EPCA.
• CAQM vs CPCB: The CPCB (set up under the Water Act, 1974) works for the whole country on all kinds of pollution. CAQM works only for NCR and adjoining areas, and only on air quality.
• CAQM vs NGT: NGT (set up in 2010) is a special court for environment cases. CAQM is an executive body that makes and enforces rules; appeals against it go to the NGT.
• GRAP vs NCAP: GRAP is an emergency plan for Delhi-NCR that kicks in when air gets bad. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP, 2019) is a long-term national plan to cut pollution in many cities.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Reactive, not preventive: Critics say GRAP acts only after air becomes bad, instead of cutting pollution all year round.
• Weak enforcement: The Supreme Court has criticised CAQM for issuing show-cause notices instead of prosecuting officials who failed to stop stubble burning.
• Dependence on states: CAQM depends on state officials to act on the ground, and states often lack staff and money.
• Narrow area: Air pollution is a problem across the whole Indo-Gangetic plain, but CAQM covers only NCR and nearby areas.
• Way forward: Experts suggest year-round action plans, better real-time data on pollution sources, stronger use of penalties, more funding for crop-residue machines and alternatives, and a wider "airshed" approach covering the whole region.

Concepts to Know

• National Capital Region (NCR): Delhi along with nearby districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, planned together under the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985.
• Air Quality Index (AQI): A single number from 0 to 500 that tells how clean or polluted the air is, based on several pollutants. Higher means worse.
• Ex-officio member: Someone who is a member because of the post they hold (for example, a state's chief secretary), not because they were picked as a person.
• Statutory body: A body created by a law passed by Parliament or a state legislature.
• Stubble burning: Setting fire to the leftover stalks in fields after harvest, mainly paddy straw in Punjab and Haryana in October and November.