The ban on construction activities during the emergency levels of pollution had left migrant labourers in the lurch after contractors refused to pay them, the Delhi Government has informed the Supreme Court-appointed watchdog Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).
The EPCA has now decided to review the issue, which forced many labourers to leave, and thrash out a solution as it concerned the livelihoods of thousands who flock to the city in search of work.
EPCA chairman Bhure Lal and member Sunita Narain had stressed that contractors would have to pay the labourers during the period of the ban. However, officials from Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) States, in a recent meeting with the EPCA, pointed out that in the absence of any legislation that it becomes next to impossible to enforce it.
Earlier this month, when pollution had climbed to emergency levels, turning the air quality extremely hazardous, the Delhi Lt-Governor had approved the EPCA's recommendation to ban civil construction activities, a measure listed under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Meanwhile, the EPCA has once again urged the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to devise a mechanism to provide pollution forecast for at least a week, saying the current two-day prediction makes it difficult to implement measures such as the odd-even scheme or ban on entry of trucks.
"EPCA had no advance warning of this weather conditions. It only has information about the current state of pollution through the real-time monitoring from the air quality index. But across the world, where such smog alert systems are in place, a robust and reliable weather forecasting system is essential for action," it said.