Delhi Labour Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 for construction workers who are out of work due to the curbs imposed as part of pollution control measures in the national capital.

As of Wednesday, Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan was in force in Delhi. GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures that are triggered to prevent further worsening of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.

From Stage III onwards, GRAP mandates a ban on non-essential construction work and the closure of stone crushers and mining activities. Stage IV includes additional restrictions, such as a complete halt on construction activities for both public and private projects.

On Wednesday, Mishra said that Stage III was in place for 16 days and that workers affected by the restrictions during this period would receive Rs 10,000 as compensation.

“Similarly, workers will be awarded compensation for the days Stage IV remains in place,” he said, adding that the benefit would be extended only to workers registered with the government.

He added that the registration process was ongoing.

The compensation scheme would exclude workers employed in hospitals, departments involved in pollution control, the fire department and other essential services.

Mishra also said that all government and private institutions in Delhi must ensure that 50% of their staff work from home from Thursday or face action.

Delhi AQI

Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category on Wednesday, with the city’s average Air Quality Index recorded at 328 at 1.05 pm, according to data from the Sameer application.

Thirty of the city’s 40 monitoring stations recorded “very poor” air quality, showed the application, which provides hourly updates from the Central Pollution Control Board. Data for one monitoring station was not available at the time.

The average AQI on Tuesday stood at 354, also in the “very poor” category, marking a marginal improvement from Monday, when air quality had deteriorated to the “severe plus” category with an average AQI of 427.

Delhi’s air quality had worsened sharply over the past week. The city’s average AQI rose from 307 on Thursday to 349 on Friday and 431 on Saturday, before touching 461 on Sunday.

An index value between 301 and 400 indicates “very poor” air. Between 401 and 450 indicates “severe” air pollution, while anything above the 450 threshold is termed “severe plus”.

An AQI in the “severe” and “severe plus” categories signifies hazardous pollution levels that can pose serious risks even to healthy individuals.

The deterioration in the air quality was attributed to unfavourable weather conditions, including very low wind speeds caused by a western disturbance.

Delhi-NCR has been recording air quality in the “poor” or worse categories since mid-October.

Air quality deteriorates sharply in the winter months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world’s most polluted capital. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, vehicular pollution, along with the lighting of firecrackers during Diwali, falling temperatures, decreased wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants contribute to the problem.

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