The Centre on Friday announced a pause on construction and demolition activities across Delhi-NCR from November 5 to 20 in view of the pollution situation that begins in the national capital with the onset of winters.
However, the government has exempted construction activities related to railways, metro services, airports, inter state bus terminals, hospitals, water supply and sanitation, national security and defence related activities and ‘projects of national importance’ from the pollution control measures. The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi indicates that the city’s air quality will likely remain in the moderate category until October 31, before deteriorating to the poor category from November 1 and further going down for the subsequent six days. The Delhi Traffic Police has also announced fresh restrictions under the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on vehicles entering the national capital from November 1, 2026. Stage-I of the GRAP is activated in Delhi-NCR when the AQI falls between 201 and 300, classified as ‘poor’.
Under the fresh curbs to control air pollution in Delhi, the traffic police said that vehicles meeting BS-VI emission standards, along with CNG and electric vehicles will be allowed to enter and operate in Delhi. It also said that vehicles covered under specific exemptions in the notification will also be permitted, subject to the applicable rules.
