WFH enforced for 50% office-goers across Delhi

The remaining employees may visit the office only when essential or emergency public services need to be delivered.

The Delhi government on Monday directed all government and private offices in the city to enforce a shift to work-from-home for at least 50% of their staff, after a key revision in the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). The measure, an earlier part of Grap’s Stage 4, will now be enforced under Stage 3.

The city has already introduced staggered timings for MCD and GNCTD offices to reduce peak hour traffic emissions.  (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

According to a notification issued by the environment department, the directive is being implemented under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The order states that “all Government Offices under the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and all private offices operating within the National Capital Territory of Delhi” must work with half their workforce physically present, while the rest work remotely. Any breach will invite punishment under the Act.

Administrative secretaries and heads of departments in state government offices are required to attend work regularly, although only 50% of the workforce may be physically present on a given day. The remaining employees may visit the office only when essential or emergency public services need to be delivered.

Private offices have been asked to follow the same cap. The order directs that “all private offices functioning within NCT of Delhi shall operate with not more than 50 percent staff physically attending the workplace” and that the remaining employees “shall mandatorily work from home”. Private establishments have also been told to prioritise flexible working hours, ensure strict work-from-home compliance and reduce office-related vehicular movement.

Essential services are exempt. These include public and private government hospitals, fire services, prisons, public transport, electricity, water, sanitation, disaster management, municipal services and departments involved in air pollution control. The notification states that “hospitals and other public-private health establishments, fire services, prisons, public transport, electricity, water, sanitation and related municipal services, disaster management and related services, forests, the environment, and department agencies engaged in air pollution control, monitoring and enforcement activities” are excluded from the 50 percent cap.

An official said the measure will now automatically apply each time Stage 3 of Grap is invoked, without the need for fresh notifications.

The shift follows the Commission for Air Quality Management’s revision of Grap on November 22 after a Supreme Court hearing on worsening pollution. CAQM informed the court it would move certain actions from Stage 4 to 3, from Stage 3 to 2 and from Stage 2 to 1. The recommendation of 50% work from home for government and private offices was among the measures advanced to Stage 3.

In line with the change, the government issued an advisory on Saturday asking private offices to operate with only half their staff on site. Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the administration was implementing all pollution control measures with seriousness and round-the-clock monitoring. The city has already introduced staggered timings for MCD and GNCTD offices to reduce peak hour traffic emissions.

Under the revised Grap schedule, measures such as ensuring a continuous power supply to reduce reliance on alternative power-generating sets and encouraging greater use of CNG and electric public transport, which were earlier part of Stage 2, have now moved to Stage 1. Steps under Stage 3, such as staggered timings for public offices and municipal bodies, have shifted to Stage 2.