Delhi Air Pollution: AQI exceeds 400, will stricter curbs introduced? what CAQM and Delhi Environment Minister told?
Delhi Air Pollution: The air quality in Delhi is very poor. On Saturday, the AQI exceeded 400.
Stricter pollution curbs are expected to be introduced soon to tackle the worsening air quality in Delhi and nearby areas with the onset of winter. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has revised its rules under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to prevent the air quality from deteriorating further.
The new rules bring restrictions from the GRAP-IV stage under GRAP-III, which is currently in force in the national capital in view of a 401-plus AQI.
Delhi and other state governments in NCR must decide on permitting public, municipal, and private offices to work at 50% strength and the rest to work from home, the CAQM said. The central government may also take a decision on allowing work from home for the employees in central government offices.
Delhi Government Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the Delhi government is carrying out cleaning work at night using MRS (road sweeping machines) to control pollution.
Speaking to media, he explained that all construction work taking place in Delhi is being monitored under GRAP-3. So far, more than 1,200 sites have been inspected, more than 200 construction sites have been issued notices, and 50 construction sites have been completely closed.
He said that the Delhi government is continuously monitoring vehicles and the pollution caused by them, vigilance has been increased on the Delhi border so that highly polluting vehicles do not enter Delhi.