On 14th of February, the Supreme Court has lifted a ban on overnight construction in the Delhi NCR. The court on November 4 2019, had introduced a complete ban on the construction work in Delhi NCR due to the decreasing air quality. Later on December 9, the court altered it to partial ban on the construction between 6 PM to 6 AM after the suggestion of the Central Pollution Control Board. This ban really affected the real estate sector and the Delhi Metro's construction work but the order comes out as a relief for everyone.

Amit Modi the President-elect of Credai (Western UP) and Director of ABA Corporation said that "We welcome the decision to lift the ban completely. Since the last four months we were only working with a labour strength of 30 percent as construction work was allowed only during the daytime. There is likely to be at least three to four months of delay but we will try and make up with simultaneous construction activity, emphasis on mechanisation and enhancing the labour force, which we hope would return in the next fortnight. Restarting work again will depend from project to project and location to location. As far as losses are concerned, they would depend on the size of the company and the project."

Ashish Bhutani the CEO of Bhutani Group also welcomed the order and said that "Lifting of the ban on overnight construction by the apex court is a big relief to all under construction projects in Delhi-NCR. With this decision, work will get on full swing."

Anuj Puri, the Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants also expressed his view and said that "The construction ban was based on a very sound fundament - the city's environment deserved an opportunity to recuperate. The resumption of construction is based on an economic imperative. Neither the ban nor its lifting can be argued with, but we hope that the real estate industry and the environment find a workable way of coexisting." He further said that “A business-as-usual approach to real estate construction will have predictable results. All decisions related to real estate and the environment – especially in a city like Delhi – must we weighed carefully. Newer construction technologies which have a lower impact on the environment are the need of the hour. Likewise, greater weightage and incentivization must be given to green buildings which have a lower footprint on the environment during their entire lifecycle."

Author- Aditi Dubey