Car restrictions for New Delhi to fight air pollution

New Delhi is imposing new rules to reduce its notorious traffic jams and fight extreme air pollution that has earned India’s capital the title of the world’s most polluted city.

a tourist stands in the middle of a street in front of the Presidential Palace enveloped in a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog, in New Delhi, India. Image by Press Association

From 1 January, for several weeks, private cars will only be allowed on roads on alternate days, depending on whether their licence plates end in even or odd numbers. The city’s pollution peaks during the cold winter months. The city also plans to shut down one of its thermal power plants and to buy special vacuum cleaning equipment to reduce the dust that shrouds the city. The Badarpur power plant, commissioned in the early 1970s, uses outdated equipment and often breaks down.

Traffic police will also be told to ensure that diesel-guzzling trucks, which move through the city at night, enter only after 11pm. Currently trucks are allowed to enter the city at 9pm, often resulting in massive traffic jams. Kewal Kumar Sharma, the city’s chief secretary, said the government plans to have the vacuum cleaning equipment in place by April.

The announcement came a day after the Delhi High Court upbraided the city’s government for “alarming” air pollution levels in the city. Earlier this year the city ordered all private cars older than ten years to be taken off the roads, becoming the second major city in the world to do so after Beijing.

Last year, the World Health Organisation named the Indian capital as the world’s most polluted, with 12 other Indian cities ranking among the worst 20.

(Press Association)