NGT questions Lt Governor decision to lift ban on construction in Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday questioned the Delhi government’s decision to lift the ban on construction imposed by it earlier this month in a bid to control the alarming levels of pollution in the national Capital.  Dubbing the situation as akin to an emergency, the tribunal had, on November 8, banned all construction activities throughout the National Capital Region and directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to deploy 50 per cent of its staff to ensure no violations of its orders were taking place in the city.

The Bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar, highlighted that pollution levels (for PM 10) had come down from 1,990 micrograms per cubic metre (mcg/m3) to 1,660 mcg/m3, which was still unsafe and well beyond permissible limits of 100 mcg/m3.

The tribunal said that whenever PM 10 levels of pollution were found to be in excess of 431 mcg/m3, then construction activity should be stopped immediately and mulled the passing an order to that effect. 

The NGT also rejected the populist defense that the ban had been lifted to pay labourers their daily wages and reminded the Delhi government of its wide powers under the Industrial Disputes Act and other labour laws, to direct builders to pay wages in spite of stoppage of work.  "The work at construction sites has not been halted due to these people (labourers). It has been stopped because the builders have caused air pollution. They must be asked to pay wages as part of their corporate social responsibility," the bench said.

The tribunal then rebuked the Haryana government for not monitoring its own levels of pollution and stated that the actions of the state have played a large role in Delhi’s pollution problem. The bench has directed the filing of a detailed report on ambient air quality for the areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and NOIDA on the next date of hearing, November 17.