As air quality worsens, Delhi bans construction & demolition activities  

• The ban on construction activities is likely to affect housing projects in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and other areas. Mining activities will not be allowed in the region.
• The authorities have been asked to enforce a strict ban on construction and demolition activities in the NCR, except for essential projects and non-polluting activities
• Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index stood at 397 at 4 pm, the worst since January. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday, and 312 on Monday (Diwali).

Delhi: Amid worsening pollution situation, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Sunday has decided to implement the Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) order, imposing a ban on construction and demolition activities in the national capital.

“According to weather experts, the wind speed will be 4-5 kmph from November 1 and it is predicted that the air quality index (AQI) might cross 400 (severe). We had a meeting with all construction authorities – PWD, MCD, Railways, DDA – and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee today, and decided to implement the CAQM order,” Rai said at a press conference.

Rai chaired a high-level meeting to discuss measures to be implemented under stage III of GRAP, reported Hindustan Times. “It has set up 586 teams comprising officials of different departments,” he said.

GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

These teams will monitor the implementation of the ban on construction and demolition activities. Rai said the construction ban will not be applicable to projects concerning national security, defence, railways and metro rail among others, reported HT.

The authorities have been asked to enforce a strict ban on construction and demolition activities in the NCR, except for essential projects and non-polluting activities such as plumbing, carpentry, interior decoration and electrical works.

The ban on construction activities is likely to affect housing projects in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and other areas. Mining activities will not be allowed in the region.

However, the Delhi minister blamed the diesel buses from Uttar Pradesh for increasing pollution in Delhi. He requested the Yogi Adityanath administration to ply CNG buses in Delhi-NCR.

Delhi recorded its air quality in the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday morning and forecasters said slow wind speed and an increase in stubble burning, especially in Punjab, may push it to the ‘severe’ zone.

Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index stood at 397 at 4 pm, the worst since January. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday, and 312 on Monday (Diwali).

SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union ministry of earth sciences, said that the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution rose to 21 per cent on Saturday, the highest this year so far.