Air quality panel imposes new restrictions on construction, demolition

In order to keep a check on the capital's worsening air quality, the Centre's air quality panel has imposed new restrictions on construction and demolition activities. The Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM directed the government of Delhi to ban all non-essential construction work in the region under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan GRAP Delhi's 24 hour average air quality index AQI at 4 pm on Sunday.

The Sub-Committee for the Implementation of the GRAP has held a meeting on Sunday to review the air quality situation in Delhi. The GRAP Sub-Committee decided to implement GRAP Stage III in the entire NCR in order to prevent further deterioration of air quality. The new restrictions are in addition to the restrictive actions mentioned in GRAP Stage I and II.

GRAP Graded Response Action Plan is an emergency response action plan invoked with a view to curb the further deterioration of adverse air quality scenarios in Delhi and NCR.

The restrictions do not apply to essential projects such as national security, defence, railways and metro rail.