All government offices and private establishments in Delhi have been ordered to work with 50% of staff on-site and the remaining staff to work from home as part of GRAP Phase 3 measures prompted by the capital’s deteriorating air quality. The order, which was issued on Monday, November 24, comes amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi, with the AQI hovering near the “severe” mark. 15 monitoring stations recorded readings above 400 points according to CPCB.
The directive was issued by the Environment Ministry under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to all government offices in Delhi and private institutions operating in the national capital.
What is included in the order?
According to the order, all administrative secretaries and heads of departments will visit the office regularly, while not more than 50 percent of the employees will be physically present in the office. The rest will work from home, he said.
All private offices operating in Delhi will operate with a maximum of 50 percent of employees physically present at the workplace. The remaining employees will “compulsorily” work from home, PTI reported, citing the order.
Which departments are exempt?
The following departments are exempt from the directives:
- Hospitals and other public, private medical facilities, firefighters,
- Prisons, public transport, electricity, water, sewerage and related utilities,
- Disaster management and related services, forestry, environment, departments or agencies engaged in air pollution control, monitoring and enforcement activities (such as teams deployed to reduce biomass burning, dust control, GRAP measures)
Delhi AQI today
Air quality in Delhi continued to remain dismal on Monday – with the overall AQI settling at 382 – in the ‘very poor’ category for the 11th consecutive day.
According to CPCB standards, AQI is between 0–50 “good”, 51–100 “satisfactory”, 101–200 “moderate”, 201–300 “poor”, 301–400 “very poor” and 401–500 “severe”.
Recent CPCB data shows little relief over the past week: AQI was 391 on Sunday, 370 on Saturday, 374 on Friday, 391 on Thursday, 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday and 351 last Monday, November 17.
CPCB’s Sameer app, which displays real-time data from all monitoring stations in Delhi, showed that out of 38 operational stations, 15 recorded air quality in the ‘severe’ category on Monday.
Which stations recorded a “Severe” AQI?
The following stations, among others, recorded an AQI above 400:
- THIS,
- punjabi bagh,
- Patparganj,
- Ashok Vihar,
- Sonia Vihar,
- rohini,
- Vivek Vihar,
- Narela
- Bawana
Vehicle emissions, stubble burning: What contributes to pollution?
The Decision Support System (DSS) of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 21.6% to Delhi’s pollution on Monday, making it the biggest source of pollutants, while stubble burning accounted for 1.8%.
