Open debris mounds at sites may reduce impact of construction ban

NEWDELHI: Loose soil and building material at several construction sites across the capital appear to be adding to the dust in the air, threatening to undermine efforts to fight pollution for which a construction ban will be in place for 10 days Thursday onwards.

Dhaula Kuan crossing, the Nizamuddin flyover, and Pragati Maidan were among five of the most prominent construction sites in Delhi where dug-up soil and sand swept the areas nearby – propelled by passing traffic.

“The entire Delhi-ncr is dug-up for various work while dust-control measures are being neglected. All of PM10 is coming from road dust,” said Bhure Lal, chairperson of the Environment Protection Control Agency. Levels of PM10, coarse dust particles, shot up to a concentration of 462μg/m3 — roughly 4.5 times the safe limit. If the soil or material is not secured, the construction ban meant to tamp down dust is unlikely to help. NEW DELHI: The war of words between the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took an unprecedented turn on Tuesday with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley accusing the central bank of sleeping on the job for its failure to check indiscriminate lending by state-owned banks between 2008 and 2014.

Jaitley’s remarks, made at an event hosted by the Us-india Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), come in the backdrop of frosty exchanges, some on the record and others sotto voce, between the Union government and RBI over the last few days.

Not only do they signal a scaling-up of tensions, but also underline the rising stakes in their face off.

Interestingly, only on Monday, a senior government official informally signalled a cessation of hostilities.

The differences spilled over into the meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), which Jaitley chaired after returning from the USISPF event and attended by RBI governor Urjit Patel.