Construction, demolition ban in all of Delhi-NCR ahead of peak smog spell

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav announced the curbs on Friday as part of the Centre’s efforts to control air pollution in the region.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has restricted outdoor construction and demolition work that raises dust across the National Capital Region (NCR) from November 5 to 20, a window that spans Diwali and what is typically the season’s worst stubble burning impact, extending the curbs to highways, roads and other linear public projects.

Capital city in the morning experienced mix of light smog and hovering clouds over the sky in New Delhi. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

The order covers work on flyovers, overbridges, power transmission lines, pipelines and telecommunication works as well, although it exempts projects related to railways, metro services, airports, inter-state bus terminals, hospitals, water supply and sanitation, and national security and defence, along with projects of national importance.

Work from home, C&D activities curb

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav announced the curbs on Friday as part of the Centre’s efforts to control air pollution in the region. CAQM notified them late on Friday in an order that applies across the NCR, including Delhi, and directs the NCR state governments and the Delhi government to enforce it. The window covers Diwali, on November 8, and the first two weeks of November, when stubble burning and its impact on Delhi have historically peaked.

The order also requires state government and private offices in Delhi and in Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Gautam Buddha Nagar to have no more than half their staff attend in person, with the rest working from home, except in industrial establishments and essential services where this is not feasible. Delhi’s winter framework separately mandates 50% work from home in government and private offices from November 1.

The order exempts industrial establishments and essential services where working from home is not feasible.

Government moves to curb winter pollution (HT Graphic)

Acting pre-emptively

The curbs add to Delhi’s own ban on construction and demolition from November 1 to January 31, which tightens into a “stricter” ban on all C&D activities from December 10, 2026 to January 20, 2027.

CAQM said a combination of factors tends to make this a highly polluted window: emissions from local sources, seasonal burning of crop residue and biomass, and other episodic events. “At the same time…adverse meteorological conditions, including low wind speeds, a shallow atmospheric boundary layer and reduced vertical mixing, further limit pollutant dispersion…” CAQM said in the order.

“The proposed measures are preventive in nature, limited to a specified period and geographical area and have been formulated, keeping in view, the seasonal vulnerability of the region,” it said, adding that the exemptions for essential public infrastructure, national security and other critical services are meant to ensure that essential and unavoidable activities are not disrupted.

“The decision has been taken as a preventive step by CAQM, as it looked at past data and found conditions are typically adverse during this window,” Yadav told the media.

Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at Envirocatalysts, said that despite the many exemptions, the curbs were a good start for the Centre and states in acting pre-emptively. “From June itself, we are seeing restrictions being announced in advance, including this one. Earlier, we would see Grap restrictions coming when the pollution is already at its peak. Though a good start, we can target even more sectors,” Dahiya said.

Some building projects expected to continue work

HT reported on October 30 that a number of projects would continue despite Delhi’s C&D ban from November 1. These include Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) Phase IV and Phase V-A projects, among them the Tughlakabad–Aerocity Golden Line and the Central Vista corridor, as well as road, flyover and drainage projects across south and east Delhi, often alongside busy roads and intersections.

In south Delhi, metro expansion and elevated road construction continue along Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, while metro-related work is under way on Josip Broz Tito Marg, the former Bus Rapid Transit corridor between Chirag Delhi and Siri Fort.

The Public Works Department is extending flyovers near Modi Mill and Kalkaji Temple, while in east Delhi, a flyover connecting Yamuna Vihar and Bhajanpura and drainage work between Karkari Mor and Shahdara add to the construction footprint. Work on the Bhairon Marg underpass is also under way, with completion expected by February next year.

Metro work remains exempt under the CAQM order, but road and flyover projects fall within the linear categories it restricts between November 5 and 20. Besides raising dust, many of these projects cause traffic congestion, which adds to vehicle emissions.

‘Detect, analyse, act’

Delhi’s permanent winter anti-pollution framework, notified in July, comes into force on November 1.

It consolidates seasonal restrictions into a single set of rules that apply every year from November 1 to February 28, including restrictions on the entry of non-Delhi vehicles below BS-VI standards, mandatory valid pollution-under-control (PUC) certificates for fuel purchases, 50% work-from-home for office staff and curbs on dust-generating construction activities. Parking charges at authorised sites will also double during the winter period.

Yadav announced the curbs while visiting CAQM’s newly developed PAVAN Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Delhi’s Janpath area, where CAQM’s office is, to review its technological framework and operational readiness.

He said the new platform would allow swift action against non-conforming industries, polluting sources and traffic congestion hotspots.

PAVAN-I3C, which operates on the principle of ‘Detect, Analyse, Act’, brings together information on air quality, emissions, weather, satellite imagery, traffic, public complaints and compliance. The platform draws data from 111 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations across Delhi-NCR, over 2,300 industries and more than 3,200 active construction sites. Deviations from prescribed norms and statutory directions will trigger alerts and escalation to the concerned agencies.

“Clean air cannot be secured by any one agency or any one State acting alone. The I3C brings every data stream that matters onto a single screen, so that a farm fire, a polluting stack or an uncovered construction site is seen, flagged and acted upon in real time. This is a paradigm shift from reacting to pollution to anticipating it, and every implementing agency must now act in real-time on these alerts without delay,” Yadav said.