Orders to curb crackers, ban fuming vehicles

Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung ordered authorities on Monday to deregister all diesel vehicles 15 years of age or older. About 2 lakh vehicles will go off the national Capital’s roads. Deregistration of such vehicles started on Monday itself. The L-G directed the Delhi police and the municipal corporations to implement an action plan.

“Vehicles older than 15 years will be deregistered, trucks not destined for Delhi will be barred from entering the city and construction and demolition of buildings will not be allowed from November 7 to 14 November 2016,” Mr Jung said. In its July order, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the Delhi government to de-register diesel vehicles older than ten years. Later, the NGT directed the administration to deregister 15-year-old diesel vehicles in the first phase.

There will also be a ban on crackers during weddings. They can be used for religious functions. Besides these, the L-G also asked the municipal corporations to take all possible measures to control fire at landfills and extended the halt on construction activities up to November 14.

Mr Jung’s announcements come a day after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced similar measures – including a temporary closure of schools, banning of construction work, shutting down of a polluting power plant in Badarpur – to bring particulate spiraling pollution levels in the city.

The meeting was attended by Mr Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, environment minister Imran Hussain and representatives from other agencies. A senior official at the L-G office said decisions taken will be reviewed at a meeting on November 15.

The city government was also considering whether to bring back a car-rationing scheme, Delhi health minister Satyendra Kumar Jain said. The administration was preparing to restrict the use of private vehicles through the “odd-even” scheme that was introduced temporarily last winter to combat pollution, he said.