GRAP 3 rules hit Delhi-NCR: BS-IV diesel cars banned, Class 5 hybrid

Representative image. Prami.ap90, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Why it matters

Stage 3 takes many older cars off the roads two days before Diwali, when families travel and shop the most. Builders and workers on private sites lose working days, and parents of young children can now choose online classes.

GRAP 3, the third and stricter stage of Delhi-NCR’s pollution curbs, came into force on Friday, 6 November 2026, two days before Diwali. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the body that sets pollution rules for the National Capital Region (NCR), invoked it as Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) rose to 382 from 369 a day earlier, the Indian Express reported.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a ladder of curbs that switches on stage by stage as the air gets worse. Stage 2 began only four days ago, on 2 November. Stage 3 now reaches into daily life across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonipat: older cars off the roads, most building work stopped and primary classes moved to a hybrid mode.

GRAP 3 rules for cars, trucks and goods vehicles

The vehicle rules are the part most families will feel. Under GRAP 3, light motor vehicles (cars and other four-wheelers) that run on BS-III petrol or BS-IV diesel, or any older standard, cannot be driven in Delhi or in the high-traffic districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida), both the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express reported. BS stands for Bharat Stage, India’s emission standards; the higher the number, the cleaner the engine is meant to be.

Vehicles adapted for people with disabilities and used for their personal travel are exempt, according to the Hindustan Times.

Goods vehicles face two separate rules. Medium goods vehicles that run on BS-IV diesel or older and are registered in Delhi cannot ply in the city. Medium and light goods vehicles of the same kind registered outside Delhi cannot enter it at all, the two papers reported.

GRAP 3 construction ban across the NCR, with exemptions

The GRAP 3 building curbs cover the whole NCR, not just Delhi. Work that raises dust is stopped: digging, filling, boring, drilling and piling, demolition, brick and masonry work, road building and major repairs, the Hindustan Times reported. Painting, polishing and varnishing, big welding and gas-cutting jobs, and the cutting or grinding of tiles and stone are also barred. So is moving dusty material such as cement, sand, bricks, fly ash and crushed stone, and driving trucks loaded with building material or demolition waste on unpaved roads.

The Indian Express added two more items from the CAQM order: ready-mix concrete (RMC) batching plants are to stop, and all stone crushers and mining in the NCR are to close.

Public projects carry on. The Hindustan Times listed the exempt categories as railways, metro, airports, interstate bus terminals, national security and defence, hospitals, highways, roads and flyovers, power lines, pipelines, telecom, sewage treatment and water supply. Smaller works that raise little dust may continue if they follow the dust-control and construction-waste rules.

GRAP 3 for schools and offices: what parents need to know

Schools in Delhi and in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar must run classes up to Class 5 in a hybrid mode, the Hindustan Times reported. That means children may attend in person or study online where online classes are possible, and the choice rests with students and their parents. Other NCR districts may also consider the same step.

Offices are a decision left to governments. The Delhi government and the NCR states will decide whether public, municipal and private offices should work at 50% strength with the rest of the staff at home, according to the Hindustan Times. The Centre may take its own call on work from home for its employees. The reports read did not say that any government had issued such an order by Friday evening.

Here is the whole of Stage 3 in one place, built from the two reports:

Area	What stops	Where	What continues
Cars and other LMVs	BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel and older	Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad, Noida	Vehicles adapted for people with disabilities
Delhi goods vehicles	Delhi-registered BS-IV diesel and older medium goods vehicles	Delhi	Not specified in reports read
Outside goods vehicles	Entry of outside BS-IV diesel and older medium and light goods vehicles	Delhi	Not specified in reports read
Construction	Dust-raising work, demolition, RMC plants, stone crushers, mining	Whole NCR	Rail, metro, airports, hospitals, roads, power, water and other listed public works
Schools	Compulsory in-person classes up to Class 5	Delhi and 4 NCR districts	Hybrid: in person or online, families choose
Offices	Possible 50% attendance	Delhi and NCR states decide	Centre decides for its own staff

Delhi AQI: how the air slid from 60 to 382 in a week

The climb in Delhi AQI has been fast. A week ago, on 30 October, heavy rain had pushed Delhi’s AQI down to 60, the Hindustan Times reported at the time. By 4 pm on 2 November it was 324, in the “very poor” band, and CAQM brought in Stage 2 that day. The reading was 369 on 5 November and 382 on 6 November, according to the Indian Express.

The AQI is a single number from 0 to 500 that sums up several pollutants. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) calls 301 to 400 “very poor” and 401 to 500 “severe”. At 8 am on Friday, the city average was 389 and several stations were already in the severe band, with IIT Delhi and Rohini at 474, the Times of India reported, citing CPCB data.

The Times of India described Stage 3 as a precaution ahead of Diwali on 8 November. Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court took up Delhi-NCR pollution and said vehicles were the main cause, as NewsPlainly reported from the hearing.

What happens next with GRAP 3

GRAP 3, like every stage, is raised or lowered by CAQM as the AQI moves. The reports read did not say how long Stage 3 will stay or what fines apply to vehicles caught breaking it. GRAP has four stages, so only Stage 4 remains above this one.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast shallow fog for the next four days and fog or mist in the early morning on 10 and 11 November, the Times of India reported.

Frequently asked questions

Which cars are banned under GRAP 3 in Delhi?

Cars and other light motor vehicles running on BS-III petrol or BS-IV diesel, or older, cannot be driven in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Noida. Vehicles adapted for people with disabilities are exempt.

Are schools closed under GRAP 3?

No. Classes up to Class 5 in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida move to a hybrid mode, and families choose between in-person and online classes where online is possible.

What was Delhi's AQI when GRAP 3 began?

The Indian Express reported Delhi's AQI at 382 on 6 November 2026, up from 369 a day earlier. At 8 am it was 389, the Times of India reported.

Is all construction banned under GRAP 3?

Dust-raising construction and demolition stop across the NCR, but railways, metro, airports, hospitals, roads, power, water and other listed public projects are exempt.