Delhi braces for winter smog with sweeping pollution curbs
The Delhi Government on Monday announced a series of measures ahead of winter and worsening pollution in the national Capital. The measures include staggered office timings, restrictions on vehicular and industrial emissions and curbs on dust-generating construction and demolition activities. The measures will be introduced in phases from November 1, 2026, with some restrictions continuing until February 2027.
Unveiling the Winter Action Plan, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the Government has ordered a ban on dust-generating demolition activities and outdoor civil construction work from November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027. A complete ban on construction and demolition activities will be imposed from December 10, 2026, to January 20, 2027.
Also, beginning November 1, BS-IV vehicles registered outside Delhi will be completely prohibited from entering the city.
The CM also said parking charges across the Capital will be doubled from November 1, while office timings will be staggered and 50 per cent work from home will be implemented. Electric vehicles and parking spaces owned and managed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will be exempt from the revised charges.
The decisions were taken after Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav chaired a high-level meeting with CM Gupta. PWD Minister Parvesh Verma, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and senior officials of the Delhi Government were also present.
Under the plan, public representatives would undertake regular field visits of Delhi’s traffic hotspots with officials, RWAs, traders, and traffic police. So far, 42 hotspots have been rectified, with eight more targeted in October. In consultation with Delhi Traffic Police, one-way traffic and decongestion trials would be undertaken at hotspots. A strict campaign against end-of-life vehicles will also be carried out at all petrol pumps in the Capital.
Delhi has ranked as the most polluted among 33 states and Union territories with an annual mean PM2.5 concentration of 101 micrograms per cubic metre, 2.5 times the Indian standard and 20 times the WHO guideline, according to a satellite-based analysis.
The Government has registered 723 construction sites on its monitoring system, with pollution control at the sites being monitored through an AI-enabled automated system. Sirsa said less than 2-3 per cent of the sites had reported violations. According to the Government presentation, 600 of the 723 registered construction sites have been equipped with web cameras, while 100 per cent camera coverage of sites registered on the construction and demolition portal is targeted by October-end.
A target has been set for the redevelopment of 3,000 km of roads to control dust generated from roads, of which work on 1,193 km has already been completed, the minister added. The concrete work has been given a deadline of October 31, 2026, while the bitumen work is to be completed by November 15, 2026. Alongside road reconstruction, work on deep cleaning, mechanised cleaning, water sprinkling, creating paved surfaces across roads, improving footpaths, removing garbage accumulation points and increasing green cover on vacant land is being expedited.
