New Delhi: The National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) has violated the pollution norms set up by the Supreme Court (SC) by operating a construction site during night hours as a result of which Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has ordered to seal the site.
It has also resulted in the imposition of Rs. 1 crore fine on NBCC by the Environment Minister for violating construction ban in the national capital.
It comes in the backdrop of an investigative report by India Today that captured images and videos of open violation of norms set by the Apex Court in order to curb pollution.
An emergency meeting was called by Gopal Rai over the alleged violations of the Supreme Court's pollution norms.
Officials from the Delhi Traffic Police department, environment department, transport department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and NBCC India attended this meeting.
The Apex Court had decided to reinstate the ban on construction activities in Delhi-NCR in November as a result of surging pollution levels during the winter season.
The NCR states had been directed by the Apex Court to to provide subsistence to workers from the funds collected as labour cess for the period during which the ban remained in force.
In December, the Delhi Government decided to further continue the ban on construction and the entry of trucks till further orders.
Only Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), e-trucks and the ones engaged in essential services will be exempted from this order.
Ironically, it has been discovered that these norms had been violated that too openly in the dead of night. Banned diesel trucks entered Delhi despite the ban while metro construction and digging works were stealthily going on.
According to India Today's investigative report, earth movers, drilling machines and generators were seen working in full swing under bright halogen lights at a NBCC India construction site in Delhi's Netaji Nagar at around 4 am on December 16.
It is a known fact that the air quality of Delhi has been deteriorating significantly so much so that several experts have deemed it to be hazardous.
Delhi had been declared as the most polluted city in the world only to be overtaken by Lahore last month.
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