The Evening Wrap: Air quality panel bans non-essential construction work in Delhi-NCR

With pollution in Delhi turning severe on Sunday, the Centre’s air quality panel directed authorities in the Delhi-NCR to ban non-essential construction work in the region under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The national capital’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 407 at 4 pm. The sub-committee for implementation of GRAP held a meeting on the day to review the air quality scenario in the region as well as the forecasts for meteorological conditions and the air quality index of Delhi. It observed that the air quality witnessed further deterioration over the last 24 hours. In an effort to prevent more deterioration, the sub-committee decided that all actions as envisaged under stage III of GRAP be implemented with immediate effect in the NCR, in addition to all actions under stages I and II, it said in an order. The pollution level in Delhi entered the ‘severe’ category after November 4, when the AQI was 447. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. The Commission for Air Quality Management had directed authorities on November 14 to revoke the curbs enforced in the Delhi-NCR under stage III of GRAP, including a ban on non-essential construction activities. Protest-hit Iran abolishes ‘morality police’ Iran has scrapped its ‘morality police’ after more than two months of protests triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country’s strict female dress code, local media reported on Sunday. “Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary” and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. His comment came at a religious conference where he responded to a participant who asked “why the morality police were being shut down”, the report said. The announcement of the ‘morality police’ abolition came a day after Montazeri said that “both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)“ on whether the law requiring women to cover their heads needs to be changed. President Ebrahim Raisi said in televised comments Saturday that Iran’s republican and Islamic foundations were constitutionally entrenched “but there are methods of implementing the constitution that can be flexible”. Women-led protests, labelled “riots” by the authorities, have swept Iran since the 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran. The morality police – known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or “Guidance Patrol” – were established under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to “spread the culture of modesty and hijab”, the mandatory female head covering. The units began patrols in 2006. Delhi MCD election | Around 50% voter turnout recorded till 5.30 p.m. Around 50% voter turnout was recorded till 5:30 pm in the high-stakes election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Sunday. Voting was, however, going on at many polling stations where voters reported just before 5:30 pm, authorities said, adding that the polling percentage is likely to go up. Voting concluded at 5.30 pm. While the turnout at 12.30 pm was 18%, it rose to 30% by 2.30 PM. Over 45% voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm. The previous civic body polls in 2017 had recorded 53% voting. The contest is largely being perceived as a two-way contest between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party. The two parties accused each other of violating model code of conduct during voting. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that recorded messages of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing people to vote for the AAP were received by lakhs of people on the day of polling. He said it was a violation of model code of conduct and lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission. The party also lodged a complaint against AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and another party leader Vijendra Garg. In his complaint, Delhi BJP’s Legal cell co-convener Sanket Gupta alleged that both Pathak and Garg violated model code of conduct by campaigning on the night of December 3 which was “silence period” before voting. The complaint also cited a viral social media video of the two AAP leaders allegedly campaigning. The party demanded the Election Commission to direct police to register an FIR against Pathak and Garg. North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari also alleged that names of hundreds of voters in Yamuna Vihar and other parts of his North East Delhi constituency were deleted at the behest of the AAP government. “I talked to the State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev and lodged my complaint with him. We will demand cancellation of polls in these areas, if needed,” Tiwari said. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey told reporters people are going to punish the BJP for its 15 years’ misrule of the civic bodies and Tiwari should “stop crying foul”. AAP candidate from Pushp Vihar in South Delhi, Arun Nawariya alleged BJP workers distributed money to influence voters. Meanwhile, people in North-East Delhi and several other areas complained that their names were not mentioned in the voters’ lists. Anil Kumar, the Delhi Congress president, was among those who could not vote after their name was missing from the list. Congress Steering Committee | Perform or perish, Kharge tells party office-bearers At the first meeting of the Steering Committee, newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge warned party’s office-bearers to leave the post if they are unable to deliver on their responsibilities. The Steering Committee, a transitional body working in place of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), met on December 4 morning. The committee has unanimously resolved that the 85th Plenary Session of the party will be held at Raipur in the second-half of February next year. The new CWC will be elected as per the party’s constitution during the plenary. Underlining the importance of “organisational accountability from top to bottom”, Kharge, in his opening statement to the Steering Committee, said “There are many responsible people in the party who fulfil their duties. But at the same time, a few of our colleagues believe that their deficiencies in fulfilling the responsibility will be ignored. This is not acceptable. Those who are unable to fulfil the responsibility will have to give chance to others.” He also stressed that winning the electoral battles is essential for the party to serve the country and this in turn can only be done by a strong organisation that delivers on people’s expectations. He exhorted the general secretaries and State incharges to introspect. “Ask yourself do you spend at least ten days each month in the State under your charge,” Kharge said, prescribing a host of housekeeping solutions to keep the organisation alert. Each State must take stock of bodies at district and block level, he said, ensuring that these bodies are reconstituted once every five years and new faces are given organisational responsibilities. Sounding out the States that will face Assembly elections before 2024, Kharge said, they should have an “activity schedule in place”. Afghanistan open for Indian investment: Taliban Afghanistan requires Indian investment, a representative of the Taliban told The Hindu on Sunday. Taliban’s Head of Political Office Suhail Shaheen said that a Taliban delegation met with the head of mission of the Indian Embassy in Kabul and invited its teams to help build and sustain infrastructure projects in the country. “Afghanistan is open for Indian investment including urban infrastructure. This is the message that the Afghan Minister of Urban Development communicated in a recent meeting with the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Kabul,” said Shaheen, informing that the issue investment and various projects was discussed by Taliban’s “Minister of Urban Development” Hamdullah Nomani and the Indian Charge d’Affaires Bharat Kumar. Several Indian companies were involved in building and maintaining health and electricity infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and these teams were evacuated in August 2021 when the Taliban forces took control of the country through a quick military campaign overpowering the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces of President Ashraf Ghani’s government. The relation between the Taliban administration and India has remained undefined as India has not recognised the current set up in Kabul, though an Indian Technical Team was sent back to reopen the Embassy of India some months ago. Shaheen, however, assured of a peaceful working environment for the Indian companies and said, “Security of Indians is our responsibility and we assure them.” Over the last two decades, Indian public and private sector entities had invested around $3billion mainly in the infrastructure sector of the country. The investment was threatened after the return of the Taliban last year. The latest interaction between India and the Taliban came against the backdrop of regional consultations and has rekindled hope of greater Indian presence in Afghanistan. In Brief: Bangladesh edges out India by 1 wicket in first ODI Bangladesh’s last wicket pair of Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mustafizur Rahaman pulled off an absolute heist with a thrilling 51-run stand as India choked during the final half an hour to lose a low-scoring opening ODI by one wicket. The 51-run stand between Miraj and Mustafizur was Bangladesh’s highest 10th wicket partnership and the fourth-highest 10th wicket partnership in a successful ODI chase. Centre to convene all-party meet on December 5 to finalise strategies for 2023 G-20 summit The Centre will convene an all-party meeting on Monday to solicit suggestions, discuss and finalise strategies for the G-20 summit which India will host in September next year. Presidents of nearly 40 parties have been invited to the meeting by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is also likely to attend the meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 04 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID Air quality panel bans non-essential construction work in Delhi-NCR With pollution in Delhi turning severe on Sunday, the Centre’s air quality panel directed authorities in the Delhi-NCR to [ban non-essential construction work]( in the region under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The national capital’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 407 at 4 pm. The sub-committee for implementation of GRAP held a meeting on the day to review the air quality scenario in the region as well as the forecasts for meteorological conditions and the air quality index of Delhi. [Heavy smog seen covered the Red Fort in New Delhi ] It observed that the air quality witnessed further deterioration over the last 24 hours. In an effort to prevent more deterioration, the sub-committee decided that all actions as envisaged under stage III of GRAP be implemented with immediate effect in the NCR, in addition to all actions under stages I and II, it said in an order. The pollution level in Delhi entered the ‘severe’ category after November 4, when the AQI was 447. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. The Commission for Air Quality Management had directed authorities on November 14 to revoke the curbs enforced in the Delhi-NCR under stage III of GRAP, including a ban on non-essential construction activities. Protest-hit Iran abolishes ‘morality police’ Iran has [scrapped its ‘morality police’ after more than two months of protests]( triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country’s strict female dress code, local media reported on Sunday. “Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary” and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. His comment came at a religious conference where he responded to a participant who asked “why the morality police were being shut down”, the report said. The announcement of the ‘morality police’ abolition came a day after Montazeri said that “both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)“ on whether the law requiring women to cover their heads needs to be changed. President Ebrahim Raisi said in televised comments Saturday that Iran’s republican and Islamic foundations were constitutionally entrenched “but there are methods of implementing the constitution that can be flexible”. Women-led protests, labelled “riots” by the authorities, have swept Iran since the 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran. The morality police – known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or “Guidance Patrol” – were established under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to “spread the culture of modesty and hijab”, the mandatory female head covering. The units began patrols in 2006. Delhi MCD election | Around 50% voter turnout recorded till 5.30 p.m. Around 50% voter turnout was recorded till 5:30 pm in the [high-stakes election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi]( on Sunday. Voting was, however, going on at many polling stations where voters reported just before 5:30 pm, authorities said, adding that the polling percentage is likely to go up. Voting concluded at 5.30 pm. While the turnout at 12.30 pm was 18%, it rose to 30% by 2.30 PM. Over 45% voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm. The previous civic body polls in 2017 had recorded 53% voting. The contest is largely being perceived as a two-way contest between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party. The two parties accused each other of violating model code of conduct during voting. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that recorded messages of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing people to vote for the AAP were received by lakhs of people on the day of polling. He said it was a violation of model code of conduct and lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission. The party also lodged a complaint against AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and another party leader Vijendra Garg. In his complaint, Delhi BJP’s Legal cell co-convener Sanket Gupta alleged that both Pathak and Garg violated model code of conduct by campaigning on the night of December 3 which was “silence period” before voting. The complaint also cited a viral social media video of the two AAP leaders allegedly campaigning. The party demanded the Election Commission to direct police to register an FIR against Pathak and Garg. North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari also alleged that names of hundreds of voters in Yamuna Vihar and other parts of his North East Delhi constituency were deleted at the behest of the AAP government. “I talked to the State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev and lodged my complaint with him. We will demand cancellation of polls in these areas, if needed,” Tiwari said. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey told reporters people are going to punish the BJP for its 15 years’ misrule of the civic bodies and Tiwari should “stop crying foul”. AAP candidate from Pushp Vihar in South Delhi, Arun Nawariya alleged BJP workers distributed money to influence voters. Meanwhile, people in North-East Delhi and several other areas complained that their names were not mentioned in the voters’ lists. Anil Kumar, the Delhi Congress president, was among those who could not vote after their name was missing from the list. Congress Steering Committee | Perform or perish, Kharge tells party office-bearers At the first meeting of the Steering Committee, newly elected Congress president [Mallikarjun Kharge warned party’s office-bearers to leave the post if they are unable to deliver]( on their responsibilities. The Steering Committee, a transitional body working in place of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), met on December 4 morning. The committee has unanimously resolved that the 85th Plenary Session of the party will be held at Raipur in the second-half of February next year. The new CWC will be elected as per the party’s constitution during the plenary. [Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with senior party leaders during the party’s Steering Committee meeting, at AICC HQ in New Delhi.] Underlining the importance of “organisational accountability from top to bottom”, Kharge, in his opening statement to the Steering Committee, said “There are many responsible people in the party who fulfil their duties. But at the same time, a few of our colleagues believe that their deficiencies in fulfilling the responsibility will be ignored. This is not acceptable. Those who are unable to fulfil the responsibility will have to give chance to others.” He also stressed that winning the electoral battles is essential for the party to serve the country and this in turn can only be done by a strong organisation that delivers on people’s expectations. He exhorted the general secretaries and State incharges to introspect. “Ask yourself do you spend at least ten days each month in the State under your charge,” Kharge said, prescribing a host of housekeeping solutions to keep the organisation alert. Each State must take stock of bodies at district and block level, he said, ensuring that these bodies are reconstituted once every five years and new faces are given organisational responsibilities. Sounding out the States that will face Assembly elections before 2024, Kharge said, they should have an “activity schedule in place”. Afghanistan open for Indian investment: Taliban [Afghanistan requires Indian investment]( a representative of the Taliban told The Hindu on Sunday. Taliban’s Head of Political Office Suhail Shaheen said that a Taliban delegation met with the head of mission of the Indian Embassy in Kabul and invited its teams to help build and sustain infrastructure projects in the country. “Afghanistan is open for Indian investment including urban infrastructure. This is the message that the Afghan Minister of Urban Development communicated in a recent meeting with the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Kabul,” said Shaheen, informing that the issue investment and various projects was discussed by Taliban’s “Minister of Urban Development” Hamdullah Nomani and the Indian Charge d’Affaires Bharat Kumar. Several Indian companies were involved in building and maintaining health and electricity infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and these teams were evacuated in August 2021 when the Taliban forces took control of the country through a quick military campaign overpowering the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces of President Ashraf Ghani’s government. The relation between the Taliban administration and India has remained undefined as India has not recognised the current set up in Kabul, though an Indian Technical Team was sent back to reopen the Embassy of India some months ago. Shaheen, however, assured of a peaceful working environment for the Indian companies and said, “Security of Indians is our responsibility and we assure them.” Over the last two decades, Indian public and private sector entities had invested around $3billion mainly in the infrastructure sector of the country. The investment was threatened after the return of the Taliban last year. The latest interaction between India and the Taliban came against the backdrop of regional consultations and has rekindled hope of greater Indian presence in Afghanistan. In Brief: Bangladesh edges out India by 1 wicket in first ODI Bangladesh’s last wicket pair of Mehidy Hasan Miraj and Mustafizur Rahaman pulled off an absolute heist with a thrilling 51-run stand as India choked during the final half an hour to [lose a low-scoring opening ODI by one wicket](. The 51-run stand between Miraj and Mustafizur was Bangladesh’s highest 10th wicket partnership and the fourth-highest 10th wicket partnership in a successful ODI chase. Centre to convene all-party meet on December 5 to finalise strategies for 2023 G-20 summit The [Centre will convene an all-party meeting on Monday]( to solicit suggestions, discuss and finalise strategies for the G-20 summit which India will host in September next year. Presidents of nearly 40 parties have been invited to the meeting by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is also likely to attend the meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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