Rs 5000 Allowance To These Workers In Delhi As Pollution Stops All Work, Reduces Earnings

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said that a financial assistance of ?5,000 per month shall be given to the construction workers by the Delhi government during the time construction activities are prohibited in the national capital.

Financial Assistance Due to Ban of Construction and Demolition Activities

Under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan following Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) order, the construction and demolition activities have been banned by the Delhi government.

The CM said in his tweet that “Construction activities have been stopped across Delhi in view of pollution. I have directed Labour Minister, Sh Manish Sisodia, to give ?5000 pm as financial support to each construction worker during this period, when construction activities are not permitted”.

Owing to the relatively better meteorological conditions, the air quality improved marginally on Wednesday morning, with the CAQM saying there is no immediate need to implement curbs under the fourth stage of the GRAP. The AQI of the city stood at 376 at 9 am.

Forecaster said that the air quality is likely to improve further on the back of stronger winds from Thursday.

In addition to this, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai has appealed to the residents to work from home and use shared transport to reduce vehicular pollution. On the air pollution emanating from stubble burning in Punjab, Rai said that the responsibility also lies with the central government.

Rai said that “Central government gives government subsidies to control stubble burning but farmers want direct incentives. Punjab’s stubble burning could have come down by 50% if the Centre cooperated.”

What is GRAP?

The GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in Delhi and adjoining areas according to the severity of the situation. It classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different stages: stage 1 – “poor” (AQI 201-300), stage 2 – “very poor” (AQI 301-400), stage 3 – “severe” (AQI 401-450) and stage 4 – “severe plus” (AQI above 450)