No new diesel vehicles would be registered in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal said on Friday.

New Delhi: No new diesel vehicles would be registered in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal said on Friday.

It also questioned the Delhi government's odd-even formula for vehicles to check air pollution and said the move may not achieve desired results.

"No new diesel vehicles would be registered in the national capital in the backdrop of rising air pollution and smog levels in the city," the tribunal said.

The NGT also said the odd-even formula may make people buy two cars.

The Delhi government announced the odd-even formula in response to judicial warnings of rising air pollution, and after the Delhi High Court said that the national capital was becoming a "gas chamber".

Delhi has nearly 90 lakh registered vehicles, almost a third of them cars. Some 1,500 new vehicles are added every day.

While several people had criticised this move by the government, reports suggest that such measures had worked in other countries.

China's environment ministry said pollutants were reduced by a third in Beijing during this week's temporary restrictions to reduce heavy smog, which included taking half the city's cars off the roads.

Under the red alert which was started on Tuesday, kindergartens, primary and high schools were ordered to be closed down, car use was restricted with odd and even number plates system and outdoor operations of construction sites were halted.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday that the emergency measures cut pollutant emissions by 30 percent from 7 am to 5 pm on Tuesday.

Gearing up to roll out the ambitious odd-even scheme, Delhi government on Thursday said an additional fleet of 6000 buses will be deployed to enhance public transport besides increasing frequency of metro trains and allowing more autos on the roads.

This move, if implemented, would not just be able to curb pollution, but can be a long-term lifestyle change.

Firstpost writer Ajaz Ashraf had pointed out, "The Delhi government’s policy will compel car-owners to take the public transport to their offices every alternate day. It will undeniably diminish the importance of car as a status symbol. Since every alternate day the link between the car and social status would be snapped, people might discover that taking the bus or metro is no commentary on their social identity and status."

However, it may not be the ultimate answer. The Delhi government would have to take several more measures to fix the pollution problem in Delhi.

Urban mobility experts see sagacity in the AAP government's decision on road rationing, echoing arguments that invoking such restrictions, with minor tweaks, are needed in the short term, also to put across the message that car users are a "heavily subsidised" lot.

However, they contended that several other measures in the medium term and long term, towards rapid strengthening of public transportation are needed in order to reach a stable situation and reduction in pollution levels.

"Double or triple your bus fleet. Increase your feeder system dramatically to connect to main trunks and Metro. But it's very easy to harp on long-term solutions but if short term measures such as this are not supported then whole point is lost," Cherubal, who has pioneered 'car-free' days in Chennai said.According to Raj Cherubal, Director-Projects, Chennai City Project, plying of odd and even numbered vehicles every alternate day would lead to a "dramatic" decrease in congestion during the peak pollution months.

With inputs from IANS