Dirty fuel-based industries in Delhi, its suburbs to remain shut till Nov 11

The Supreme Court-mandated anti-pollution authority EPCA on Saturday said dirty fuel-based industries in Delhi and its suburbs will remain shut till November 11.

The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority also extended the ban on hot-mix plants and stone-crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 11.

The Supreme Court had on November 4 banned construction and demolition activities in the region till further orders.

In a letter to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, EPCA chief Bhure Lal said all coal and other fuel-based industries, which have not shifted to natural gas or agro-residue, will remain shut in Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Sonepat, Panipat till the morning of November 11.

In Delhi, industries which have not yet shifted to piped natural gas, will not operate during the period.

"The Central Pollution Control Board-led task force has reviewed the weather conditions that are likely to prevail over the region and it's their assessment that air quality will not improve in the next 48 hours and we may even see a possible decline," Bhure Lal said.

Last week, the EPCA had declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region as a cocktail of emissions from crackers, stubble burning and unfavourable weather Delhi led to an alarming spike in pollution levels.