Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday instructed Government and private construction agencies to follow the guidelines to control dust pollution in the city during the winter season. 

Rai has held a meeting with more than 200 representatives of government and private construction agencies and directed them to follow 14-point guidelines to prevent dust pollution.

“All agencies engaged in construction work were instructed to follow 14-point guidelines to control dust pollution,” he said in a post on X.

“The Government is preparing a winter action plan to control pollution, with 28 departments assigned specific tasks and expected to submit their reports soon. Following this, the environment department will curate a report and present it to the chief minister for approval. It will then be implemented,” the Minister said.

In a press statement issued by the AAP Government, Rai has stated that strict action will be taken against government and private agencies not following the norms.

He further said it is mandatory for all government and private construction agencies to provide on-site training to construction workers regarding the guidelines.  In the meeting, 14-point guidelines to prevent pollution were explained in detail to all government and private construction agencies and instructions were given to implement them.

During this meeting, suggestions were also taken from the representatives of the construction agencies. The Government is preparing a winter action plan on 15 focus points to tackle pollution in winter, including curbing dust pollution.

It will be mandatory for the construction agency to install anti-smog guns on sites having construction area equal to or more than 5,000 square meters.

The other measures include dust/wind breaking walls of appropriate height around the periphery of the construction site;  Installation of Anti Smog Gun(s) (for? 5000 sqmt built construction area); Tarpaulin or green net on scaffolding around the area under construction and the building;  All vehicles, including carrying construction material and construction debris of any kind, should be cleaned and wheels washed;  All vehicles carrying construction material and construction debris should be fully covered and protected and  all construction debris and construction material of any kind should be stored on the site and not dumped on public roads or pavements.