Air toxic, Delhi govt makes 50% work from home a must

“GRAP 3 was imposed in Delhi for 16 days. As construction was banned during those days, construction workers were impacted, especially those who work for a daily wage,” Mishra said.

About 2.57 lakh individuals are currently registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board under the Delhi government. A large number are unregistered – and the actual count of construction workers in the capital is estimated to be at least three to four times the number of registered workers.

The process of registration and verification of workers is ongoing, Mishra said. “As and when this process is completed, the assistance amount of Rs 10,000 will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT),” he said.

In the course of a hearing on air pollution on Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India Aishwarya Bhati informed the Supreme Court that verification had been completed for 35,000 workers, of which 7,700 had been found eligible to receive the one-time payment. The cash transfer would follow physical verification of these workers, Bhati said.

GRAP is a framework mechanism under which governments in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) must take specific sets of actions as air pollution rises through various levels. GRAP was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016, and its implementation is overseen by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the most powerful pollution watchdog for Delhi and the NCR. Restrictions prescribed for each stage of GRAP continue as pollution levels rise and additional restrictions are imposed under the next stage of GRAP.

Most construction and demolition activities stop when GRAP Stage 3 is invoked after air quality enters the ‘severe’ zone (AQI 400-450). A total ban on construction comes into effect after AQI crosses 450 (‘severe +’), and the most stringent set of restrictions come into force under GRAP 4.

The government had extended cash support to workers whose livelihoods were impacted by GRAP restrictions last year as well. And on November 24 this year, it had asked all private offices to ensure half their employees worked from home. This decision was, however, not enforced after restrictions under GRAP were lifted following a slight improvement in air quality.

On Wednesday, Mishra said, “In line with directions given by CAQM and the [Delhi] Environment Department, the Labour Department has also decided that from Thursday, a maximum of 50% attendance will be allowed at all government and private offices. The remaining 50% have to work from home, and this is mandatory.”

Public and private healthcare facilities, fire services, public transport, the prison department, and some other necessary services have been exempted.

The government also appealed to offices to make working hours flexible and to promote carpooling among employees.

“Since vehicular pollution would cause extensive air pollution and release harmful air pollutants, particularly when air quality is very poor, it is felt that there needs to be more curbs on vehicular movement,” the official advisory said.

The average air quality index (AQI) in Delhi improved marginally to 334 on Wednesday from 354 on Tuesday, but remains in the ‘very poor’ (300-400) category. The AQI was in the ‘severe’ category – above 400 – on Monday, Sunday and Saturday.

Since November 1, the daily average AQI in Delhi has improved to below 300 on only three days in November and two days in December. The average AQI has crossed 400 into the ‘severe’ category on three days each in November and  December.