Delhi:The smog condition in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) today was worse than it was on Tuesday. With smog having returned to the national capital yet again this year, the Delhi government was forced to consider a slew of measures to minimise its adverse impact.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that the capital has become a “gas chamber”. “Every year this happens during this part of year,” he tweeted adding that the government will have to find a solution to the problem of stubble burning in the adjoining states.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the primary schools would be closed in the capital the next day in view of the deteriorating quality of air in the city. He also asserted that the state government was ready to take a slew of measures, including reintroduction of the odd-even scheme, to tackle the problem.
Sisodia also said if the situation worsened, the government would consider going ahead with measures for a Graded Action Plan – banning the entry of trucks, a ban on construction and reintroducing the odd-even formula for vehicular movement.
If the Delhi government reintroduces the road-rationing programme, as odd-even scheme is known in other countries, it would be for the third time. It was introduced for the first time between January 1 and 15, 2016.
It was reintroduced between April 15 and 30 the same year. It has not been implemented since then perhaps because of the negligible advantages it accrued on the two earlier occasions.