In a bid to curb rising dust pollution during the winter months, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday unveiled a comprehensive 14-point construction guideline as part of the city's 'Winter Action Plan'.

 The rules aim to tackle dust pollution from the construction sites, which is a major contributor to the city's declining air quality, Rai said. He stated that these guidelines will be strictly enforced starting October 7 adding any violations after this date will lead to penalties with the repeat offenders facing a halt in the construction activities.

 The rules mandate that all construction sites must be covered with tin sheets to prevent dust from spreading into the surroundings.

 "People involved in any kind of construction work whether private, government or company-driven must ensure compliance with these rules," Rai emphasised during his press conference.

 Rai stated that all construction areas must be enclosed with tin sheets, vehicles transporting construction materials must have clean tires and materials like sand and gravel must be covered to prevent dust from spilling onto the roads. To control dust, regular water sprinkling at the construction sites is compulsory, he added.

 Rai further said that workers must be provided with dust masks and health kits at all times. The Delhi government has also deployed 523 teams from 13 departments to monitor compliance.

 These teams will inspect the construction sites around the clock, ensuring that the new norms are followed to prevent dust pollution, he said.  The anti-dust campaign will run from October 7 to November 7 as part of the winter action plan to tackle pollution in the capital, Rai added.

Rai said that for not registering on the C&D portal, a fine of Rs one lakh will be imposed on construction projects with an area of less than 20,000 square meters and Rs two lakh on construction projects with an area of more than 20,000 square meters. A fine of Rs 7,500 per day will be imposed for not installing anti-smog guns.

According to Rai, earlier there was a rule to install anti-smog guns only on construction sites above 20,000 square meters. Now on the basis of the new rule, it has been made mandatory to install anti-smog guns on construction sites with an area of 5,000 square meters and more. There should be 1 anti-smog gun on a construction site of 5,000 to 10,000 square meters, 2 on a site of 10,000 to 15,000 square meters, 3 on a construction site of 15,000 to 20,000 square meters and at least 4 anti-smog guns on a construction site above 20,000 square meters.