Delhi to restrict vehicles on roads to beat pollution

In an emergency meeting called by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the government suggested that odd, even numbers of vehicles should be allowed to run on alternate days. Though, this will be applied to vehicles entering in Delhi from other states. This effectively means vehicles ending with an even number will be allowed on a certain day, while those with odd number plates can be driven the next day.

The government says with this measure it hopes to cut down vehicular pollution in Delhi by half.

The government will shut down the Badarpur Thermal Power plant which is adding to the city’s pollution. The government said it will also launch a web application, which allows people to report about polluting vehicles in the capital.

New Delhi, a landlocked city in northern India with a population of almost 26 million, suffers from a “toxic blend of geography, growth, poor energy sources and unfavorable weather that boosts its dangerously high levels of air pollution”, according to a recent study by the U.K.’s University of Surrey.

A day after holding its second car-free day in the capital, the AAP government today claimed that the south Delhi’s Dwarka stretch used during the event showed “significant” reduction in level of pollutants in the air.

It directed them to file comprehensive action plans, which are the need of the hour, by the next date of hearing on December 21.

The move came just a day after the Delhi High Court made a scathing observation that the current air pollution levels in the national capital have reached alarming proportions and it was akin to living in a gas chamber.