NEW DELHI, Dec 17 — Authorities in India’s capital Delhi rolled out strict measures today to curb pollution, including a ban on vehicles not compliant with latest emission control norms and regulating attendance in private and government offices.
The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi, home to 30 million people, has been in the “severe” category for the past few days, often crossing the 450 mark. Shallow fog in parts of the city worsened visibility that impacted flights and trains.
This prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management to invoke Stage 4, the highest level, of the Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi and surrounding areas on December 13.
The curbs ban the entry of older diesel trucks into the city, suspend construction, including on public projects, and impose hybrid schooling.
Kapil Mishra, a minister in the local government, today announced that private and government offices in the city would operate with 50 per cent attendance, with the remaining working from home.
Additionally, registered construction workers, many of them earning daily wages, will be given compensation of 10,000 rupees (RM452) because of the ban, Mishra said at a press conference in Delhi.
Yesterday, the government enforced strict anti-pollution measures for vehicles in the city and banned vehicles not compliant with current emission control standards.
“Our government is committed to providing clean air in Delhi. We will take strict steps to ensure this in the coming days,” Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said late yesterday.
Pollution is an annual winter problem in Delhi and its suburbs, when cold, dense air traps emissions from vehicles, construction sites and crop burning in neighbouring states, pushing pollution levels to among the highest in the world and exposing residents to severe respiratory risks.
The area, home to 30 million people, gets covered in a thick layer of smog with AQI touching high 450 levels. Readings below 50 are considered good.
