Ghaziabad, Nov 9 (PTI) The Ghaziabad administration on Monday ordered immediate closure of all hot mix plants in the district due to the deteriorating air quality in Delhi-NCR, officials said.

The operation of hot mix plants would be allowed, in case, they maintain the norms of the Graded Response Action Plan(GRAP), District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI.

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Based on orders passed by the National Green Tribunal, legal action would be initiated against them for contributing to increasing air pollution levels, he said.

Hot mix plants can be operated only when the concentration of smoke emission would be controlled under the norms. Violators would be punished under NGT guidelines, Pandey added.

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The district's air quality has entered the 'severe' category.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)