As Delhi gasps, odd-even rule may be reimposed

Delhi’s air quality, famously poor, has worsened in the last two days, making the clamour for closure of schools and cancellation of high-profile sporting events louder.

Given the severe pollution levels, even the odd-even traffic scheme may be brought back, according to an official, who said that if the air quality does not improve, the State government would consider bringing back the traffic rule in winter in an attempt to curb pollution levels.

The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) has recommended that parking fees in the city be quadrupled in an effort to discourage the use of private vehicles.

On Tuesday, the Authority also directed that all measures laid out in the ‘severe’ category of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) be imposed.

The EPCA has directed that the following measures, meant for the governments of NCR, including Delhi, be implemented immediately: closure of brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers; intensification of public transport service; imposition of fines on all road constructing agencies with inadequate dust control measures; and immediate enhancement of parking fee by four times.

Under the action plan, which was notified earlier this year, the odd-even scheme is to be introduced once the air quality hits the “severe” level, which Delhi has now crossed.

Further, entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities) is to be stopped and all construction activities need to be halted immediately, according to the plan.

Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is currently in Bonn, Germany, attending the annual UN climate conference, said in a statement that cost-effective measures are crucial as pollution control would require sustained work over a long period.

The air quality, across nine monitoring centres, has stayed at “hazardous” levels — well above the hazardous level cut-off of 300.

In some parts of Delhi, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at an astounding 900.The acceptable range for “good” air quality is below 50, while an AQI between 50 and 100 is considered to be moderate.

According to Sandeep Nayar, Senior Consultant at the BLK Super Speciality Hospital, the inflow of patients with breathing trouble has shot up 50 per cent since Diwali, when pollution levels increased.

The Indian Medical Association has recommended that schools be closed till the air quality normalises. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also sought closure of schools.