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(With agency inputs)

NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi high court said living in the city was like "living in a gas chamber", the Arvind Kejriwal government on Friday decided to allow private vehicles with even and odd registration numbers on alternate days from January 1 next year.All you need to know about new Delhi vehicle ruleThis effectively means vehicles ending with an even number will be allowed on a certain day, while those with odd number plates can be driven the next day. The rule will not apply to public vehicles.The decision, taken at a meeting presided over by Kejriwal, will also cover vehicles entering Delhi from other states. The Delhi government hopes to reduce emission by half in the national capital by the controversial move.The Delhi government has also decided to shut down south Delhi's Badarpur power plant, one of the coal-based plants of the NTPC. The government said it will also launch a web application, which allows people to report about polluting vehicles in the capital.Delhi, on an average, adds nearly a 1000 cars everyday to its already choking roads. Studies also say the national capital has more cars than Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai combined.On Thursday, the Delhi high court said the air pollution levels in the national capital have reached "alarming" proportions and it was akin to "living in a gas chamber". The court directed the Centre and the Kejriwal government to present specific and comprehensive action plans to combat it.The court identified dust particles and vehicular emissions as the two major causes of air pollution in Delhi. It asked both the Centre and the Delhi governments to ensure no construction of building or roads takes place without first ensuring that the generation of dust was minimised.