With no improvement in the air quality of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in the last three days, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) ordered a complete ban on construction activities in the region till November 5.
In a meeting held on Friday afternoon, the UPPCB formally declared the blanket ban on construction.
According to sources, in spite of fixed working hours in the region, construction activities were seen to be carried out at several places. The violation was much worst in Greater Noida in comparison to Noida but going by the Air Quality Index (AQI), while Greater Noida recorded 477 at 2 pm, Noida was at a much higher side of AQI at 553.
According to an official data, the overall AQI on Friday was 582 at 12.30 am for Delhi-NCR which rose to 504 at 3.30 am.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’. Above 500 falls in the ‘severe-plus emergency’ category.
In the past, the UPPCB had limited the construction activities to fixed working hours a day, but after no improvement in air quality was seen and more violation cases were reported, the board under the directions of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) ordered a complete ban for any construction activities till the morning of November 5.
The ban also stretches out to the hot mix plants and stone crushers which were earlier banned between 6 am to 6 pm.
