2 Delhi Ministers Order 50% Staff To Work From Home As Air Turns 'Severe'

New Delhi: With Delhi's air quality slipping into the 'severe' category and a thick blanket of smog covering the national capital, two Delhi government ministers have directed 50 per cent of employees in departments under their charge to work from home (WFH) to reduce vehicular pollution.Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Transport Minister Pankaj Singh, who also holds the health portfolio, issued the directions on Friday as pollution levels continued to rise.Officials said the move is aimed at reducing vehicular movement by allowing half the workforce to operate remotely.Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 403 on Friday morning, entering the 'severe' category, before improving marginally to 373 at 4 pm, which falls in the 'very poor' category.Mr Sirsa also holds the portfolios of food and civil supplies, industries, and forest and wildlife, while Mr Singh oversees health and family welfare and information technology, besides transport.A government official, however, clarified that the ministers' work-from-home direction was limited to employees and officers posted at the Secretariat and would not apply to hospital staff."Yes, This order only for employees and officers working at the Secretariat, not for the Health Department. All personnel working in hospitals fall under essential services," the official said.Also Read | India's Air Pollution Watch Has Blind Spots: Inactive Monitoring StationsEssential Services Exempt From WFH RuleThe exemption is not limited to hospitals or the Health Department. Under the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) directions, other essential services are also exempt where implementing the 50 per cent work-from-home arrangement is not feasible.These may include critical operations involving emergency response, fire services, electricity, water supply, sanitation and public transport, depending on operational requirements.According to a CAQM order issued on October 30, state government and private offices in Delhi and five adjoining NCR districts must operate with a maximum of 50 per cent physical attendance from November 5 to 20.The remaining employees are to work from home.The order applies to Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. It does not restrict the arrangement to employees working at the Delhi Secretariat.However, it provides an exception for industrial establishments and essential services where implementing the arrangement is not feasible.READ | The Cost Of Working Through Smog: Inside India's $85-Billion Productivity CrisisDelhi's Winter Action PlanThe Delhi government's winter action plan, which came into effect on November 1, also provides for 50 per cent work from home.Under the plan, Administrative Secretaries and Heads of Departments are required to attend office regularly, with not more than half the staff physically present.The remaining employees are to work from home, although department heads can call additional personnel to office to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential and emergency public services.The directions come amid the implementation of Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), invoked across Delhi-NCR on November 6.Under GRAP III, NCR governments are required to take decisions on allowing public, municipal and private offices to operate at 50 per cent staff strength.Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality remained 'very poor' on Saturday morning, with several monitoring stations continuing to record 'severe' pollution levels.