Delhi bans non-essential construction work, demolition activities as air quality worsens

New Delhi, December 4: After Delhi’s air quality dipped to a ‘severe’ level with AQI around 407 for the first time in a month on Sunday, the national capital administration issued orders prohibiting construction and demolition activities in and around Delhi.

The air quality in Delhi worsened to ‘severe' after marking ‘very poor’ on the AQI for five straight days.

The Delhi government has now ordered that all demolitions and construction activities be halted till further orders. The city's severe air pollution has prompted the Centre's air quality panel to prohibit non-essential construction work in Delhi-NCR.

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To combat rising air pollution, the panel imposed a construction ban in the Delhi-NCR region last month. However, on November 14, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed authorities to lift the restrictions imposed in the Delhi-NCR under stage III of GRAP, including a ban on non-essential construction activities.

The AQI on Sunday was 407, worse than that recorded on Saturday. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index stood at 407 at 4 pm on the day.

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