The Delhi government has issued notice to stop construction work at the BJP headquarters in the national capital and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on engineering firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd for violating the ban on construction and demolition work due to air pollution, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said today.
Officials said the minister saw construction work at the BJP headquarters at central Delhi's Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg while he was returning after checking the site of the Unique Identification Authority of India, the controlling body for Aadhaar.
"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," Mr Rai told reporters.
'एन्टी डस्ट कैम्पेन' के तहत औचक निरीक्षण के दौरान भाजपा के निर्माणाधीन कार्यालय स्थल पर पाई गई भारी अनियमिताएं। दिल्ली में निर्माण कार्यों पर प्रतिबंध के बावजूद चल रहा था निर्माण कार्य।
— Gopal Rai (@AapKaGopalRai) November 1, 2022
डीपीसीसी को निर्माण कार्य बंद करने एवं ₹5 लाख जुर्माना लगाने का निर्देश। pic.twitter.com/a60rl749Ln
The CAQM, short for the Commission for Air Quality Management, last week ordered a halt on construction and demolition work in the national capital to stop air quality from worsening.
The CAQM is a statutory body formed in 2021 to tackle air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region, or NCR.
It allowed only essential projects to carry one during the period of the ban, as part of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP. The construction ban does not apply to projects linked to national security, defence, railways and metro rail, among others. But it is likely to affect housing projects in Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram, among other areas. Mining is also not allowed in the region.
The GARP monitors and recommends steps to be taken based on the severity of pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The next stage in the "severe plus" category can include steps like ban on the entry of trucks to Delhi; allowing 50 per cent staff to work from home in public, municipal and private offices; closure of educational institutions and the running vehicles on alternate days based on odd or even number licence plate.
Two-year-old Sumaiya Ansari, a resident of India's Byrnihat town which is ranked the world's most polluted metropolitan area by Swiss Group IQAir, was battling breathing problems for several days before she was hospitalised in March and given oxygen.
Earth Day is observed in over 190 countries, making it one of the largest secular observances in the world.
Delhi AQI Update: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that the national capital's air quality was in the moderate category.
The electrification of Caltrain in the San Francisco Bay Area has led to a significant reduction in toxic black carbon, improving air quality for commuters and residents. The study found an average reduction of 89% in riders' exposure to black carbon
India's air quality is far short of WHO standards and more than 40 per cent of its population still relies on biomass fuels, leading to deaths every year, an official from the United Nations body has said.
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