Follow-Up: Two Delhi Ministers Order 50% of Their Departments' Staff to Work From Home as Air Quality Index Hits 403, Rated Severe
As air pollution in India's capital worsens, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh have directed the departments under their charge to operate with 50 per cent of employees working from home, in order to reduce the number of vehicles travelling to government offices and limit emissions. Hospital employees and other essential-service personnel are exempt. Indian media reported the directions, citing Delhi government officials.
The move follows Delhi's Winter Action Plan, which came into effect on November 1 and caps physical attendance in government departments at 50 per cent of staff strength, with the remaining employees working from home; administrative secretaries and heads of departments must attend regularly and may summon employees where needed to keep essential services running. Separately, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) ordered on October 30 that, from November 5 to 20, government and private offices in Delhi and five surrounding National Capital Region districts likewise operate with no more than 50 per cent of staff on site, with industrial establishments and essential services exempt.
Delhi's air quality index touched 403 on the morning of November 13, in the 'severe' category, and the 24-hour average stood at 373 at 4 p.m. on Friday. At 9 a.m. on Saturday the index read 348, with seven of the city's 59 monitoring stations in the severe category, and the official early-warning system forecast further deterioration over the next few days. On November 13 Delhi overtook Lahore, Pakistan, as the most polluted major city in the world (see related story).
Source: Government of Delhi
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：印度德里雾霾中的街道（资料图，2019 年摄，本稿所涉城市）。图中是雾霾笼罩下的德里街道与车流。作者与授权：Prami.ap90，CC BY-SA 4.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: Air pollution over Delhi in 2019 (file photo). Wikimedia Commons (Prami.ap90, CC BY-SA 4.0).
