Real estate developers urge relaxation of norms under stage III of GRAP

Real estate developers have urged for some relaxation in the provisions of stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which was reimposed on Saturday in Delhi-NCR due to severe air pollution.

Stage III of GRAP means a ban on all construction and demolition activities except those of national importance.

In connection with this, Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) Chairman Brijesh Goyal on Sunday, wrote a letter to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) Chairman M Kutti, requesting some relaxation in the activities.

"The businessmen from the real estate and construction sector told us that after a ban of several days, GRAP-3 has been re-implemented in the Delhi-NCR. This has led to a ban on construction activities, leading to delays in the projects and losses. It is also affecting the earnings of the labourers," the letter read.

The CTI Mayor expressed his concerns about the implementation of GRAP-3 in the letter.

"It's not possible to start work one day and stop it two days later. The ban on construction activities was first put on October 28. Suddenly, the GRAP-3 was implemented and then rolled back. It was again implemented last Saturday," he said.

He requested the CAQM to give some relaxation in the construction-related works.

"Once the ban on construction is put, the labour, machine, operators, everyone goes away. After that, once the ban is revoked, it takes 3-4 days to restart the work. Also, the days get shortened during the winter. So, I urge the CAQM to give some relaxations in the construction work under GRAP-3," he added in the letter.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), which comes under the Ministry of Environment implements orders considering the air quality of Delhi-NCR.

Incidentally, in view of the significant deterioration in the air quality of Delhi-NCR in the last 24 hours, the stage III of GRAP was reimposed.