Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Delhi Government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it is ready to impose a complete lockdown in the city, in order to check air pollution. The Delhi government also suggested that it would be meaningful if lockdown is implemented across the NCR areas in neighboring states.
In an affidavit, the Delhi government said, “GNCTD is ready to take steps like complete lockdown to control local emissions. However, such a step would be meaningful if it is implemented across the NCR areas in neighboring states. Given Delhi’s compact size, a lockdown would have limited impact on the air quality regime.”
Earlier on Saturday, the Supreme Court had suggested that the government should consider a two-day lockdown to protect citizens and inform the court on Monday about emergency steps to improve air quality.
Notably, Delhi’s air quality on Monday witnessed marginal improvement as the air quality in the capital city reached the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category with Air Quality Index (AQI) at 318 (overall), according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
However, the AQI is likely to deteriorate from November 16 night onwards due to calm wind conditions. On November 17, it is likely to be in the upper end of the very poor category,” said the agency. Owing to high levels of air pollution, schools in Delhi and Haryana have been closed and all construction activities have also been shut down.
