Amid Delhi's toxic air quality, offices to work at 50% strength, WFH for rest

All Delhi government offices and private organisations will operate with 50 per cent staff, with the remaining employees working remotely, due to increasing pollution levels, according to an order issued by the government on Monday.

“All private offices functioning within NCT of Delhi shall operate with not more than 50% staff physically attending the workplace. The remaining staff shall mandatorily work from home,” the order issued by the Delhi government's department of environment & forests said.

The order also urged private offices to implement staggered working hours wherever feasible, ensure strict compliance with work-from-home norms, and minimise vehicular movement associated with office commutes.

Also Read | Delhi's toxic air remains ‘very poor' with AQI 397; protesters stun cops with chilli spray

Hospitals, private and public health facilities, fire services, public transport, electricity, water, sanitation, and other essential or emergency services are, however, exempted from these directives, according to the order.

The order comes on a day when Delhi's air quality remained grim, hovering close to the 'severe' threshold.

The city's overall AQI on Monday was recorded at 382, while 15 monitoring stations logged readings beyond the 400-mark, reported PTI, citing data from the CPCB.

Also Read | Experts sound red alert as Delhi air turns ‘life-threatening': 10 points

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the average AQI stood at 391 on Sunday, 370 on Saturday, 374 on Friday, 391 on Thursday, 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday and 351 on Monday.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0–50 is 'good', 51–100 'satisfactory', 101–200 'moderate', 201–300 'poor', 301–400 'very poor' and 401–500 'severe'.

Earlier, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the government is implementing all pollution-control measures with full seriousness and round-the-clock monitoring, as reported by HT. The city has also enforced staggered timings for MCD and GNCTD offices to curb peak-hour traffic emissions. Stage 3 of Grap has been in force in Delhi since November 11.

Source: HindustanTimes
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