Delhi Govt Caps Office Attendance At 50% As Pollution Rises; Others To WFH
Hospitals, private and public health facilities, fire services, public transport, electricity, water, sanitation, and other essential or emergency services are exempted from these directives.
- Delhi mandates 50% office staff attendance, rest work remotely.
- Private offices urged for staggered hours, reduced commute.
- Hospitals, essential services are exempt from these rules.
All Delhi government offices and private organisations will function with only 50 per cent staff physically present, with the remaining employees working remotely, following an order issued by the Delhi 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, stated.
Guidelines for Private Offices
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.
Hospitals, private and public health facilities, fire services, public transport, electricity, water, sanitation, and other essential or emergency services are exempted from these directives.
Air Quality Situation
The directive comes as Delhi’s air quality remains dangerously high. On Monday, the city’s overall AQI was recorded at 382, with 15 monitoring stations logging readings beyond 400, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) cited by PTI.
The average AQI in Delhi has consistently remained in the 'very poor' category over the past week: 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 of 0–50 is 'good', 51–100 'satisfactory', 101–200 'moderate', 201–300 'poor', 301–400 'very poor', and 401–500 'severe'.
Government Measures
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 office timings for MCD and GNCTD offices to curb peak-hour traffic emissions. Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) has been in force in Delhi since November 11.
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