Supreme Court says stopping vehicles, construction to prevent pollution ‘old, tried, failed tools’

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Updated - November 07, 2026 08:46 pm IST - NEW DELHI Vehicles stuck in traffic on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway amid hazy conditions, in Gurugram, on November 6, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI The Supreme Court on Friday (November 6, 2026) termed measures like banning vehicles and construction to curb air pollution in the national capital as “old, tried and failed tools”. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the Union government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) if they had any “significant scientific method other than stopping vehicles and stopping construction”. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, arguing for CAQM and the Centre, said that it would not be completely true to call such measures a “complete failure”. Ms. Bhati said emergency and pre-emptive measures like Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) have at least been able to arrest air pollution at sustainable levels. “But yet the Air Quality Index (AQI) is touching 400...” the Chief Justice responded. “For us, it is either ‘severe’ and ‘very severe’. ‘Very poor’ is normal. We are already touching 400. Delhi invites and attracts talent and search for livelihoods from across the country.