As the air quality in the national capital fell into the “severe” category, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Thursday issued directions to immediately ban construction activities in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) except for essential government projects.

The CAQM also urged the state governments in the NCR and GNCTD to contemplate discontinuing physical classes in schools for children up to Class V and conducting classes in an online mode.

The AQI in Delhi was recorded at 402 at 5 pm.

The CAQM has invoked the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) as air quality deteriorated in the city. It involved a complete halt on construction and demolition work except for essential government projects, mining and stone crushing; imposing strict restrictions on plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel LMVs (4 wheelers) in Delhi and in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the sub-committee under the GRAP held here in the national capital, earlier in the day.

The sub-committee reviewed the air quality scenario in the region as well as the forecasts for meteorological conditions and air quality index made available by IMD and IITM.

According to an official release by the CAQM, the Delhi government has imposed a ban on construction activities in the entire National Capital Region (NCR).

However, exemptions have been made for the projects for the railway services, metro services, airports, inter-state bus terminals, defence-related activities, healthcare-related activities, etc, the release read further.

The government will also intensify the frequency of mechanised sweeping of roads and ensure daily water-sprinkling along with dust suppressants, added the official statement.

Activities including earthwork for excavation and filling including boring and drilling works will be banned.

As per the official release, a ban has been imposed on the activities, which include demolition works, loading and unloading of construction materials anywhere within or outside the project sites, transfer of raw materials either manually or through conveyor belts, including fly ash, movement of vehicles on unpaved roads, operation of batching plant, laying of sewer line, waterline, drainage work and electric cabling by open trench system, cutting and fixing of tiles, stones and other flooring materials, waterproofing work, painting, polishing and varnishing works etc and road construction/repair works including paving of sidewalks/pathways and central verges, etc.

Meanwhile, the sub-committee has urged the state government in the NCR and GNCTD to contemplate discontinuing physical classes in schools for children up to Class V and conducting classes in an online mode.

According to the CAQM, the GRAP for the NCR has been classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi viz. Stage I ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300). Stage II ‘Very poor’ (AQI 301-400), Stage III ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450) and Stage IV ‘Severe +’ (AQI >450).

The action plan was implemented as an emergency response mechanism to poor air quality levels. But this time, the government implemented GRAP even before the worsening of Delhi’s air quality.