Kejriwal: Workers to get ₹5,000 per month during construction ban

NEW DELHI: The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal stated on Wednesday that during the period when construction activities are restricted in the capital, construction workers will receive financial help from the Government of NCT of Delhi in the amount of ₹5,000 per month. In accordance with stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan and a directive from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Delhi government has prohibited construction and demolition activities.

Due to generally favourable weather conditions, Delhi’s air quality slightly improved on Wednesday morning. According to the CAQM, there is no imminent need to adopt limitations under the fourth stage of the GRAP. At nine in the morning, the city’s AQI was 376. Stronger winds starting on Thursday could help the air quality further improve, according to forecasters.

Gopal Rai, Minister of Environment for Delhi has urged the people to work from home and take shared transportation in an effort to cut down on vehicle pollution. Regarding the air pollution caused by burning stubble in Punjab, Rai stated that the federal government is also accountable.

“Central government gives government subsidies to control stubble burning but farmers want direct incentives,” Rai said. “Punjab’s stubble burning could have come down by 50 per cent if the Centre cooperated.”

According to the severity of the issue, Delhi and surrounding areas implement the GRAP, a set of anti-air pollution measures. There are four main levels it uses to categorise the air quality in the Delhi-NCR: stage 1 is “poor” (AQI 201-300), stage 2 is “extremely poor” (AQI 301-400), stage 3 is “severe” (AQI 401-450), and stage 4 is “severe plus” (AQI above 450).