Noida: 5 arrested for flouting pollution norms

Five persons were arrested from a construction site here over alleged violation of directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to curb air pollution, officials said on Monday.

The action was taken during a joint inspection by officials of the Noida Administration, the regional pollution control board and the local police, they said.

Five workers were arrested from a construction site of Prashant Developers in Sector 22 for violation of NGT rules. An FIR has also been lodged at the Sector 24 police station in this case, City Magistrate Shailendra Mishra said in a statement.

Details about the violation and identity of those arrested were not available immediately.

Earlier last week, an FIR was lodged against nine persons for allegedly violating the NGT guidelines, while one person was arrested for stubble burning in Greater Noida.

On November 11, an FIR was registered against 10 farmers in Greater Noida on charges ofstubbleburningand causing air pollution in violation of the law.

Farmers in Jewar area were also slapped with a penalty of Rs 35,000 each over pollution-related incidents on November 5, the district administration had said.

Delhi-National Capital Region has been grappling with hazardous levels of air pollution since late October, prompting several restrictions from central agencies including bans on construction activities, bursting of crackers andstubbleburning, among others.