Delhi lifts ban on construction work, says Gopal Rai

|HT|

Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai on Monday said a ban on construction and demolition activities has been lifted as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped to the “poor” category. He added that the ban was rescinded to ensure there is no further inconvenience to labourers. Rai said strict vigilance through 585 monitoring teams will continue across the city. He added any private or government construction site will be immediately shut if it is found violating any of the 14-point anti-pollution guidelines issued last month.

“We will issue notices later, but construction work will be immediately halted and a penalty will be imposed on the spot, if any construction site, public or private, is found not adhering to the 14-point guidelines. The ban has been removed as air quality is already improving and the labour force was starting to face inconvenience,” said Rai. Rai said the guidelines, which include installation of windbreakers, sprinkling of water and the use of anti-smog guns at sites with an area of over 20,000 square metres, needed to be strictly followed. He added the AQI was 431 (severe) at Anand Vihar at 10 am on Sunday but dropped to 329 (very poor) at 10 am on Monday. Similarly, at Ashok Vihar, the AQI dropped from 394 at 10 am on Sunday to 309 at 10 am on Monday.

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