NDMC fines Rs 50,000 for dust pollution at construction sites in Delhi

With air quality dropping to "poor" levels in the city, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) carried out inspections at construction sites, issuing challans of Rs 50,000 for each violation of dust mitigation measures. Due to sustained poor Air Quality Index (AQI) for the past few days in Delhi, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 1 was implemented on Tuesday. "The NDMC has constituted inspection of construction sites for enforcing dust mitigation measures, and as many as 30 challans of Rs 50,000 each (total Rs 15 lakh) have been issued as per the guidelines of National Green Tribunal (NGT)," an NDMC statement said on Wednesday. The civic body is taking different initiatives to reduce air pollution, and violators are fined for the violations by teams who carry out the inspection, supervise and monitor the action, the statement said. According to the statement, the civic body's Public Health Department has also issued 290 challans of Rs 48,747 to those who violate rule