The Central government on Thursday lifted a ban on non-essential construction work and plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi-NCR amid a progressive improvement in air quality in the region.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) noted a significant improvement with an AQI of 316 at 2 pm, well below the threshold for invoking Stage-III actions under the air pollution control plan called the Graded Response Action Plan.