Schools shut, blanket ban on constructions
Delhi govt orders closure of schools till Nov 5; no ban on entry of trucks as number of entries per day has dipped; full ban on crackers, stone crushers and hot mix plants
NEW DELHI : Declaring a “health emergency” in Delhi, after the air quality critically dropped to reach the ‘severe plus’ category, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca) on Friday directed a slew of measures, including shutting down of schools and a complete ban on construction activities in Delhi and the neighbouring satellite towns until November 5.
Acting on Epca’s recommendations, the Delhi government ordered all schools in the national Capital to shut till Tuesday, to save children from excess exposure to bad air.
“Air pollution is at ‘severe plus’ levels, which is hazardous for health. People are advised to ensure that they minimise personal exposure as far possible/ do not exercise in the open till pollution levels are reduced and in particular, minimise exposure of children, aged and vulnerable,” the directions issued by the Epca read.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal met with Epca chairperson Bhure Lal on Friday to discuss the action plan for the city to deal with the spike in pollution. “I had an excellent meeting wid Sh Bhure Lal ji, EPCA chief. I sought guidance from him and reiterated the commitment of our govt in dealing wid pollution. I also assured him all cooperation in implementing GRAP and other measure, (sic)” CM Kejriwal tweeted after the meeting.
SCHOOLS TO BE SHUT
The AQI on Friday touched 484, causing panic among the public. Looking at the deteriorating air quality, the Delhi government announced that all the schools in Delhi will be shut. “In the wake of rising level of pollution caused by stubble burning, the Delhi government has decided to shut all schools till November 5,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
Earlier in the day, the Epca had advised the Delhi government that shutting schools will be the most effective measure to minimise exposure of children and restrict their outdoor activity.
NO BAN ON TRUCKS
If the PM2.5 (finer particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) level crosses the 300ug/m3 mark (severe plus or emergency category), under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), the entry of trucks are supposed to be banned into Delhi.
However, on Friday, it was noticed that with the enforcement of radio-frequency identification (RFID) system at 13 entry points of Delhi, the number of trucks entering the city has reduced. Data provided by the Epca shows that before the RFID, nearly 8,000 trucks entered Delhi every day. Between October 1 and October 31, this number was found to have reduced to 3,664 daily entries.
“Since the RFID is functioning well, there would be no need to ban the entry of trucks. If we impose a ban, there will be a pile up at the borders, which will increase pollution. This is what we found last year. Once we let these vehicles in, vehicular emissions make things worse,” said Sunita Narain, Epca member.
BAN ON CONSTRUCTION Even though the Epca had extended the ban on overnight construction activities until November 2, looking at the high pollution levels and unfavourable weather conditions, the body decided to implement a blanket ban on construction in Delhi until 6am on November 5. This ban has also been extended to the neighbouring cities of Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida.
“We will review the pollution situation on Monday and decide on whether there is a need to extend the ban,” said Narain.
NON-PNG INDUSTRIES, HOT MIX PLANTS AND STONE CRUSHERS
The ban extends to coal and other polluting fuel-powered industries in neighbouring states, including Sonepat, Panipat, Bahadurgarh and Bhiwadi, until November 5. The industries in Delhi that have not shifted to piped natural gas (PNG) will also not be allowed to operate.
It was also decided that hot mix plants and stone crushers in all NCR districts will be completely shut.
COMPLETE BAN ON CRACKER BURNING
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) did an analysis of the damage caused by cracker burning on Diwali and found that after 5pm, when Delhiites began bursting crackers, the pollution levels spiked 10 times.
The Epca on Friday said that no crackers will be allowed in Delhi throughout winter. “We note that there are festivals coming and given the experience of Diwali, when in spite of all efforts, cracker burning was high and led to accumulation of toxins in the air, the measure is needed,” the Epca directions read.