Anti-Pollution Measures in Delhi Threaten Livelihoods of Daily Wage Workers

New Delhi:  Daily wage workers in construction are bearing the brunt of the restrictions imposed in Delhi-NCR to combat worsening air quality, with their livelihoods brought to a standstill.

Workers who rely on daily earnings for survival expressed fear that their children may starve due to the halt in work.

Under the current GRAP-IV measures, construction and demolition activities (C&D) are prohibited following reports of "severe-plus" air quality in certain areas of Delhi, with AQI levels exceeding 450.

Suman, a 45-year-old mother of two, says, “If we sit at home, what will we eat? What will we feed our children?” She recently renewed her labour card in the hopes of receiving government aid, but she says it has been a futile exercise. "We don’t have government jobs where salaries come automatically. We survive on daily earnings, and without work, we have nothing,” she adds.

A thick grey haze engulfed the national capital on Tuesday, with AQI soaring to 488. Delhi's air quality plummeted to the ‘severe plus’ category on Sunday, prompting authorities to impose Stage IV measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Monday.

The measures include prohibiting construction and demolition activities, limiting truck entries to those carrying essential goods or using clean fuel, and closing schools. Offices have also been ordered to make adjustments for their employees.

For Babu Ram, a 63-year-old construction worker, the ban on C&D activities has exacerbated an already dire financial situation. He has a wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchild to support, besides having to deal with a debt of Rs 3 lakh.

“There’s no pension for people like me. Schemes like Ladli Behna are riddled with corruption, middlemen take everything and we get nothing,” he says. “If I can’t work, my family won’t survive.” Similarly, Rajesh Kumar, a 42-year-old labourer, says his family in his village in Bihar depends on the money he sends home.

“I have not married yet because I have several responsibilities, including my sister’s wedding, which has left me with a debt of Rs 6 lakh,” he says.

“This happens every year, pollution cripples Delhi, but instead of solving the problem, the government creates more hurdles for people like us," he adds.

(with agency inputs)