00:00Delhi's stepping up meanwhile, preparations for the winter pollution season as well.
00:05Chief Minister Rekha Gupta held a high-level meeting on air pollution control,
00:09chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav.
00:11Senior officials and Delhi Minister Sir Saab was also present.
00:14But this time the focus is stricter.
00:16The enforcement have to be very disciplined.
00:19There has to be continuous monitoring and action across major pollution sources.
00:23And this prep is necessary because we are heading to the month of usually November
00:27when that high pollution and its peak is reported.
00:30The government has now announced a series of measures for the winter months.
00:34November 1st to February 28th.
00:36Government and private offices will have 50% of their workforce working from home.
00:40Parking charges will double from 1st November, remain higher till 28th February.
00:45Office timings will also be staggered to reduce peak hour congestion.
00:50All of this is to help you understand why these measures are being taken.
00:54We do not know if this will have an impact on the pollution that we are witnessing.
01:00So office timing will also be staggered to reduce the peak hour congestion.
01:04Here's an important one.
01:06MCD offices will operate from 8.30am to 5pm.
01:11Delhi Government office will function from 10am to 6.30pm.
01:16As you can see, timings are being changed.
01:18Now to the most important part that may affect you and I and people who are indulging in constructions.
01:22Construction and dust generating activities can now face a tighter restriction.
01:29Like what?
01:30The dust generating demolition and outdoor civil construction will be prohibited from 1st November to January 31st.
01:38There could be a complete ban though, a stricter one,
01:41that will come in on demolition or construction activities from 10th of December to 20th of January.
01:49That will be about completely a no-go when it comes to the construction activities.
01:55That will be 10th of December to January 20th.
01:59The government is also tightening vehicle emission checks.
02:02How does one do that?
02:04A year-round PUC enforcement will begin from 1st October, which is days to go from now.
02:10From November 1st, certain non-BS6 vehicles registered outside Delhi will face restrictions,
02:17especially for entering into Delhi.
02:20What about electric and CNG vehicles?
02:23Thankfully, if you have an electric or a CNG vehicle,
02:26that will be exempt from these stricter bans to enter into Delhi.
02:30Construction sites will come under closer surveillance through a Dust Portal 2.0 of the government,
02:38using live cameras, pollution sensors, GIS mapping and AI-based monitoring to track violations.
02:46But the government says that enforcement alone cannot be enough.
02:51So what are the options?
02:52Jan Bhaagidari events, where people get involved, are being planned across 37 pollution hotspots.
03:00Beginning October 10th, you will see a focus on awareness, citizen participation and pollution mitigation measures.
03:06The larger message, of course, is from the meeting of the pollution control,
03:11that has to be year-round exercise, coordinated enforcement across sectors
03:16and greater public participation is being requested from the government,
03:21both at the union government level and the Delhi government.
03:24But remember, for Delhi, it's heading into a most challenging pollution month.
03:29The test will be for this winter season, no excuses this time.
03:33Whether these measures, as precautionary ones, can translate from policy, on paper, to cleaner air, on the ground.
03:42We are Delhi residents and I hope that these measures will make a difference,
03:46because otherwise, it will only seem to be political bickering.
