Highlights
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced that outdoor sports activities for classes above the fifth standard have been suspended.
- Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that 50 percent of the Delhi government staff will work from home.
- In a bid to ramp up public transport, the government will also launch ‘Paryavaran Bus Service’ which will include 500 privately-run CNG buses.
The Delhi Government on Saturday announced that primary schools in the national capital will be closed given the spike in air pollution levels.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced that outdoor sports activities for classes above the fifth standard have been suspended.
Schools in Delhi and Noida shut
“Primary classes will be closed from tomorrow and outdoor activities for classes above the fifth standard will be suspended. We are also mulling over implementing the odd-even scheme for plying of vehicles,” he said.
The announcement comes a day after Noida authorities ordered schools to switch to online mode due to the increase in air pollution levels.
While some parents in Delhi had been demanding that schools should be shut down, others and some management had opposed the idea of the closure of regular classes, saying it would disturb the pace of academic learning.
Work from home for government staff
Besides the partial school shutdown, the Delhi Government has also announced a slew of other measures to combat the alarming air pollution levels in the national capital.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said that 50 percent of the Delhi government staff will work from home.
He also said that private offices have been advised to allow work from home for their employees.
“At a meeting with departments concerned, it has been decided that 50 percent of the staff of government offices will work from home from Monday and an advisory will be issued to private offices to follow suit,” Rai said.
In a bid to ramp up public transport, the government will also launch ‘Paryavaran Bus Service’ which will include 500 privately-run CNG buses.
Rai said a six-member team comprising senior officials has been set up to monitor the implementation of the curbs on anti-polluting activities.
NHRC summons chief secretaries of four states
On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission had asked the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to appear before it on November 10 to discuss the rise in pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The NHRC said it is “not satisfied” with the actions taken so far to address the issue and that “much more” needs to be done to reduce pollution in Delhi.
SC to hear plea on stubble burning
On Friday the Supreme Court also agreed to hear a plea seeking urgent steps to curb air pollution in Delhi on November 10.
Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, representing the petitioner said the air pollution in the capital is in severe category due to an increase in stubble burning and sought a direction to the state governments to take necessary measures in order to reduce the pollution, which includes installation of smog-towers, plantation drive, affordable public transport, etc.
The plea contended that the 24-hour air quality index in Delhi touched 424 on November 1 entering the severe zone (400+) after hovering at its threshold the previous day at 392.
The plea also sought a direction issuing fresh guidelines to the state governments in respect to stubble burning. The plea has arrayed the central government and governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, as respondents in the matter.
