Lame excuses, passing the buck: Supreme Court raps Delhi govt over air pollution

The top court has slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for entirely blaming the stubble burning for the pollution in its affidavit.

The court has also directed the Centre to call an emergency meeting with the concerned states and other authorities to plan the immediate steps to reduce the smog.

The matter, the court said, will be heard the next day.

Earlier, the Delhi government said it is ready to impose a complete lockdown in the national capital to control air pollution

The city government, led by Chief Minister Kejriwal, has said the lockdown will however have a limited impact and suggested a shutdown in the neighbouring states to beat the pollution.

"The Delhi government is ready to take steps like complete lock down to control local emissions. However, such a step would be meaningful if it is implemented across the NCR areas in neighbouring states. Given Delhi's compact size, a lock down would have limited impact on the air quality regime," the government said in its affidavit.

"We are ready to consider this step if the same is mandated for the entire NCR areas by the Government of India or by the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas," it added.

The schools in Delhi, where the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is located, are shut for the week and all government as well as private employees have been asked to work from home.

The construction sites have been shut for three days.