Ready for lockdown to curb air pollution, Delhi govt tells Supreme Court

Delhi state government on Monday, said that it was ready for a lockdown to tackle air pollution in the city. Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the government had conveyed this to the Supreme Court of India. However, he stressed that the lockdown was possible only when it is implemented in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR)

The NCR comes under the jurisdiction of various states around Delhi.

"We've told Supreme Court that we're ready for a lockdown...possible only when there's lockdown in NCR regions too. We're ready to take all measures with Centre, States; will follow whatever SC directs. Joint-action plan is needed," said Gopal Rai. He was quoted by ANI.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central government to call for an "emergency meeting" on November 16 with Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh and sought an action plan to curb the air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant concluded that the major culprits of air pollution in the national capital are construction activities, industries, power plants, and vehicular transportation apart from stubble burning in some areas.

Posting the matter for hearing on November 17, the top court asked Haryana and Punjab governments to persuade the farmers to stop the stubble burning for a week. Following the Supreme Court`s suggestion, schools in Delhi and Haryana have been closed and all construction activities have also been suspended.

Delhi`s air quality on Monday witnessed marginal improvement as the air quality in the capital city reached the lower end of `very poor` category with Air Quality Index (AQI) at 318 (overall), according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research.

(With inputs from agencies)