As the national capital’s air quality remained under ‘very poor’ category, the Delhi government on Wednesday urged people to work from home, pointing out that emissions from private vehicles account for 50 per cent of the air pollution in the national capital.
“I ask everyone to work from home if possible. Avoid bringing private vehicles to work as 50% of the pollution is caused by them. Use shared transport instead. People should avoid bursting firecrackers. Farmers in Punjab are still burning stubble as the Central government was unable to support them and the Punjab government,” Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai said addressing a press conference today.
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Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body tasked to maintain the air quality in the Delhi-NCR region, had on Saturday asked for the cessation of construction and demolition activities in and around the national capital in accordance with the third stage of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The GRAP was brought into effect in 2017 after the Supreme Court allowed its implementation. The GRAP notifies relevant authorities in the Delhi-NCR region to take necessary steps to curb pollution as and when the Air Quality Index (AQI) drops.
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Asking all parties to rise above politics and battle air pollution, Rai said that the CAQM’s directives should also be implemented in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as well, reported news agency PTI.
The AQI of Delhi on Tuesday stood at 359, which was under ‘very poor’ category while the AQI of Noida slipped to 444, which falls under ‘severe’ category. Gurugram recorded an AQI of 391, which again falls under ‘very poor’ category, according to SAFAR-India.