Authorities in New Delhi began revoking licenses for thousands of older diesel vehicles on Tuesday and halted construction work on the underground rail network, as air pollution remained several times over the safety limit despite easing from Monday. The measures were the latest attempt to lift a thick haze of smoke, ash and other pollutants that has blanketed the capital city of more than 17 million people for more than a week, triggering public anger. Meanwhile, India's top court on Tuesday gave the federal government two days to chalk out a plan to tackle alarming levels of smog in Delhi. An environmental body filed a petition with the Supreme Court earlier this week demanding a review of the government›s previous lackluster attempts to control the pollution levels, describing it as a "public health emergency". The government on Tuesday asked the court for two days to come up with a plan, which was granted. "Give me two days. We will have a meeting with the environment secretary and come up with a comprehensive response to the problem of Delhi pollution," India's solicitor general, Ranjit Kumar, told the court. Licenses given to diesel-powered vehicles of more than 15 years old are being withdrawn, which would lead to the removal of 200,000 vehicles from the city's roads, Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung's office said in a statement. In July, the National Green Tribunal had ordered Delhi authorities to pull diesel vehicles that were more than 10 years old off the roads, but that order was not enforced. "There is lax action on the court's directives. There is little recognition of the urgency of toxic air pollution, particularly in the winter months," said Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and Environment which has filed a petition before the court. "We are asking the court to monitor the implementation of measures," she said, calling for the government to declare the latest outbreak of smog a public health emergency. Levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that reaches deep into the lungs and causes breathlessness, throat irritation and wheezing, were above 700 in the city's worst affected areas on Monday, according to the air quality index as monitored by the US embassy. On Tuesday, the air quality index had dropped to 372 by around noon, but that was still in the highest alert "hazardous" zone which starts at 300. "I could smell the pollution from inside the plane when I landed in Delhi," said Kiran Shah, a businessman who flew in from Mumbai on Tuesday. — Agencies
