Delhi: Pollution watchdog bans diesel generators till March 15
Pollution in New Delhi
The move by the Environment Pollution Control Authority comes after the air quality index in Delhi fell to 'very poor'
A Supreme Court-appointed watchdog has banned diesel sets in the national capital from Tuesday.
The move by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) comes after the air quality index in Delhi fell to the "very poor" category and as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to improve Delhi's air quality during the high pollution winter kicked in, the Times of India reported.
The EPCA has also ensured a slew of other anti-pollution measures from Tuesday including the closure of the pollutant-emitting Badarpur thermal power plant, monitoring of trucks entering Delhi, mechanised sweeping of roads and the of brick kilns which do not use the zig-zag technology.
The ban on diesel gensets will remain in place till March 15, 2018, the report said.
Marketplaces, housing societies, malls and the upcoming wedding season will bear the brunt of the ban.
The ban will not apply to "essential services" such as hospitals, metro and mobile towers.
"We already have a list of places which have applied for exemptions," environmentalist and EPCA member Sunita Narain was quoted as saying.
The full list of exemptions will be released today.