The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) has banned construction activities in Delhi-NCR between 6 pm-6 am from Saturday to Wednesday.
In a letter to chief secretaries of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal also issued directions to close down coal-based industries, barring power plants, in satellite towns of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh during the period.
The ban follows a slew of recommendations from a 10-member anti-pollution task force led by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Member Secretary Prashant Gargava.
India is celebrating the festival of lights Diwali on Sunday, October 27.
In the letter, the EPCA chairman also mentioned that Delhi's air quality would be challenging during the next few days due to festivals, meteorology, and stubble burning.
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In order to ensure smooth traffic in all areas specially the identified high traffic corridors in Delhi', traffic police in Delhi-NCR would deploy additional manpower.
EPCA has also asked chief secretaries of the states to strictly enforce the Supreme Court directions regarding firecrackers.
PMO panel says intensify anti-pollution measures
A PMO-led panel has directed implementing agencies and National Capital Region (NCR) states to intensify anti-pollution measures up to mid-November so that there is an immediate impact on air quality, according to officials.
The high-level task force led by the principal secretary to the prime minister held a meeting on Thursday to analyze factors contributing to the deterioration of air quality in the last week of October, the situation in the run-up to Diwali and till mid-November.
It also reviewed the measures being taken by various agencies to control dust emission in the Delhi-NCR region, a Delhi government official who attended the meeting said.