New Delhi: PTI reported on November 1 that the Delhi government issued a notice to stop work at the BJP headquarters here and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on private firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd for violating the ban on construction and demolition work imposed in view of worsening air quality in the city, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday.
Officials also said the minister noticed construction work at the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg while he was returning after inspecting a construction site of the Unique Identification Authority of India.
“The workers said the work concerned the BJP’s national headquarters. It is a complete violation of CAQM’s orders. We have issued an order to stop work at the site and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the construction agency L&T,” Rai told reporters.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) — a statutory body formed in 2021 to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR — had on Saturday directed authorities to impose a ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR, except in essential projects, and other curbs under stage three of the Graded Response Action plan (GRAP).
GRAP, first implemented in 2017, is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the national capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.
It classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different stages: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450).
The construction ban is not applicable on projects concerning national security, defence, railways and metro rail, among others. However, it is likely to affect housing projects in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and other areas. Mining activities are also not allowed in the region.
The next stage in the ‘severe plus’ category or Stage IV can include steps like a ban on the entry of trucks into Delhi, allowing 50 per cent of staff to work from home in public, municipal and private offices, closure of educational institutions and the plying of vehicles on an odd-even basis, among others.