The Supreme Court on Friday said that the controversial odd-even scheme for private cars in New Delhi will be reinstated in case of a pollution emergency in the capital.
Construction activities will also be halted if air pollution crosses the PM2.5 emergency level of 300 micrograms per cubic metre for a continuous 48 hours. The directive came after the Supreme Court accepted Centre's graded action plan to battle pollution.
The SC also asked the Centre to notify the action plan to a bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices AK Sikri and SA Bobde. The bench said last week that immediate steps were required to curb the rising pollution in the national capital and had banned the sale of firecrackers in New Delhi.
The apex court also asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Central government and the Environment Pollution (Control and Prevention) Authority (EPCA) to implement the graded action plant to curb pollution in the city. Although the CPCB's report had stated that the odd-even scheme will not have a significant impact if other measures were not taken, the Centre has still recommended the formula in the capital.
According to the Air Quality Index, if the pollution level of PM2.5 crosses the 300 mark for a continuous 48 hours or more, then a pollution emergency will be triggered and the action protocol will be instated to tackle the problem.
As one of the measures of its action plan proposed to the SC, the Centre has also recommended banning of diesel-based generators and increasing the parking fee by almost four times if the air quality becomes "very poor". The Centre also states that in such an event, when the air quality is between 121 and 250, all outdoor activities and sports events in schools should be suspended.
