A construction and demolition ban will be imposed across the Delhi-NCR region from November 5 to 20 as authorities prepare for the period when air pollution typically intensifies, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is expected to issue the formal order, while directions on working from home are also being considered for five high-vehicle-density districts.
The restriction will cover dust-generating demolition and outdoor civil construction across the National Capital Region. Projects classified as being of “national importance” will be exempt, Yadav said. The affected districts being considered for work-from-home directions are Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Yadav said CAQM would issue the construction and demolition order later on Friday. The announcement comes as Delhi-NCR enters what the minister described as the “peak time” for air pollution, coinciding with the period when paddy stubble-burning events are usually at their highest and with the Diwali festival period.
The regional restriction follows a separate ban on construction and demolition in Delhi that is scheduled to take effect on November 1 and remain in force until January 31. Together, the measures create a wider and more restrictive framework for construction activity across the capital region during the pollution season.
CAQM has already imposed Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP, in the National Capital. Under this stage, authorities are required to strengthen dust-mitigation measures and enforce existing rules covering construction and demolition, waste management and other pollution sources.
The GRAP schedule also includes measures related to vehicle emissions, diesel generator sets, public transport, industrial emissions and the use of coal and firewood in tandoors. These measures continue to apply when higher GRAP stages are activated, subject to the relevant schedule.
The new regional ban is expected to affect outdoor civil works and demolition operations across multiple urban jurisdictions, including major construction markets in Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. The formal CAQM order will determine the operational details, including the precise exemptions and enforcement directions. Officials are also expected to clarify whether and how work-from-home directions will apply in the five identified districts.
