NEW DELHI: The ban on construction and demolition (C&D) activities in Delhi-NCR has been partly lifted. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Friday issued an order saying projects of public utility, health care facilities and linear public projects (relating to transport) will be exempted from the ban with “immediate effect”. Private construction activities and those outside the exempted categories shall continue to remain restricted.
“Since the current AQI is within ‘very poor’, it would not be advisable to allow operations at all C&D sites. Based on the air quality forecast, the decision will be reviewed further,” the CAQM said.
As per the order, the exempted categories include --- railway services /railway stations; Metro Rail services including stations; airports; national security/ defence related activities/ projects of national importance; hospitals/ nursing homes; linear public projects such as highways, roads, etc; sanitation and public utility projects like sewage treatment plants, water pumping stations etc; ancillary activities specific to and supplementing the above categories of projects.
The exemptions are subject to strict compliance of C&D waste management rules and dust prevention/control norms, the CAQM said.
Citing a 2018 study by the Automotive Research Association of India and The Energy and Resources Institute as well as an IIT-Kanpur study of 2016, the air quality panel said C&D activity in Delhi is the third biggest contributor to area source emission for PM10 and “importantly it is a consistent source all through the year”. Despite a slew of restrictions in Delhi-NCR since mid-November, air quality has more or less been in the ‘very poor’ zone. On Friday, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI was 329 in the ‘very poor’ zone, as per CPCB.