NEW DELHI: India's environmental watchdog has slapped New Delhi's government with a $3.5 million fine for failing to enforce rules to reduce smog in the world's most polluted major city, officials said Tuesday.
The National Green Tribunal penalised the capital administration for its lack of oversight after it emerged some polluting industries were still burning harmful waste in the open.
The tribunal, a national body tasked with ruling on environmental matters, had been hearing a plea from Delhi residents complaining about factories flouting laws on trash fires.
It said the Delhi government needed to instruct the court on how it would proceed with tackling the annual crisis that plagues the capital city of 20 million.
Each winter, Delhi chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times.
An estimated 1.1 million Indians die prematurely from air pollution every year.
The US embassy website in Delhi showed the level of harmful airborne particles hit 290 on Tuesday -- nearly 12 times World Health Organization's safe limits.
Delhi, which has shut down power plants and banned heavy trucks from the city in a bid to curb smog, has accused other states of not playing their part.
In particular, the capital has blamed governments in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana for crop fires that burn every year, sending smoke eastward.
Acrid smoke from these fires mingles with pollutants from cars, factories and construction sites in Delhi to create a lethal and persistent smog cocktail.
Delhi is not the first state to be slapped with a fine by the green watchdog, with West Bengal penalised roughly $700,000 for failure to clear its smoggy skies.
Delhi was among 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of the 20 most polluted cities across the globe this year issued by the WHO.
India pollution watchdog fines Delhi over toxic smog
India pollution watchdog fines Delhi over toxic smog
- Each winter, Delhi chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times
- An estimated 1.1 million Indians die prematurely from air pollution every year
Louvre workers vote to extend a strike
- Tensions have been further sharpened by fallout from the theft of crown jewels during a daylight robbery that exposed serious security lapses at the museum
PARIS: Employees at the Louvre Museum voted to extend a strike that has disrupted operations at the world’s most visited museum, though the attraction partially opened Wednesday to allow visitors to enjoy the “Mona Lisa” and other highlights.
The museum said that visitors have started entering the building, where they had access to a limited “masterpiece route” which includes Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and the famous Venus de Milo.
“Due to a strike, some rooms in the Louvre Museum are ... closed,” it said on social media. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Union workers are protesting chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions — pressures intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.
The decision came during a morning general assembly, after workers had adopted the walkout unanimously earlier this week. The museum was shuttered Tuesday for its weekly closed day.
Tensions have been further sharpened by fallout from the theft of crown jewels during a daylight robbery that exposed serious security lapses at the museum.
Culture Ministry officials held crisis talks with unions Monday and proposed to cancel a planned $6.7 million cut in 2026 funding, open new recruitment for gallery guards and visitor services and increase staff compensation. Union officials said the measures fell short.
Louvre President Laurence des Cars appeared before the Senate’s culture committee later on Wednesday as lawmakers continue probing security failures at the museum.
