The Delhi-NCR WFH order will cap physical attendance at government and private offices at 50 per cent from November 5 to 20, while dust-generating demolition and outdoor construction activities will face restrictions across the region under directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
The 16-day measures apply to the National Capital Territory of Delhi and five adjoining National Capital Region districts: Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonipat in Haryana, and Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Employees not attending offices physically will be required to work from home during the specified period.
The directions were issued on October 30 under Section 12 of the CAQM Act, 2021. They cover state government and private offices, although industrial establishments and essential services where work-from-home arrangements are not feasible have been exempted. The Delhi government, NCR state governments and concerned implementing agencies have been directed to ensure compliance.
CAQM has also ordered a temporary halt to dust-generating demolition and outdoor civil construction work throughout the NCR during the same period. The restrictions include linear public infrastructure projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, overbridges, power transmission lines, pipelines and telecommunications infrastructure.
Projects linked to railways, Metro services, airports, inter-state bus terminals, hospitals, water supply and sanitation are exempted. Construction associated with national security, defence and projects of national importance can also continue. The order therefore creates a temporary distinction between activities considered deferrable and infrastructure work treated as essential to public services or national priorities.
The commission said its review of daily Air Quality Index data from November 2018 to 2025 showed a recurring pattern of high pollution during the first half of November, with air quality reaching the Severe and Severe+ categories on several occasions. It cited emissions from local sources, crop residue burning and biomass combustion, along with low wind speeds, a shallow atmospheric boundary layer and reduced vertical mixing, as factors that limit pollutant dispersal.
The restrictions are preventive and time-bound, rather than directly linked to the air quality recorded on a particular day. CAQM said they are intended to reduce emissions at source before pollution reaches its seasonal peak. This differs from measures under the Graded Response Action Plan, which are generally activated according to prevailing or forecast AQI levels.
The order comes after Stage I of GRAP was invoked across Delhi-NCR on October 21 when air quality deteriorated into the Poor category. Delhi’s wider winter pollution-control plan also includes restrictions on polluting vehicles, stricter enforcement of pollution certificates and measures intended to discourage private vehicle use. The office and construction restrictions will remain in force from November 5 through November 20.
