''It's getting worse every day,'' Jag Pravesh Chandra, the chief of the Delhi Executive Council and the city's top elected official, said of pollution in New Delhi. ''At this rate, Delhi will become an unlivable city.''

Airline flights are often delayed by smog on the runways, and drivers are often forced to switch on their headlights in daytime to avoid accidents. Factories and Vehicles Blamed

The city's haze is caused by severe pollution, much of it from factories and power plants and from the exhaust pipes of cars, motorcycles and scooter rickshaws. There is much natural dust. Soot is caused by wood stoves and the burning of leaves, coal and cow dung by poor people who cannot afford other fuel.

Virtually all Indian cities and large towns face similar problems, and uneven industrial and economic development has caused strains on civic services like sewers, drinking water, housing and electricity.

Mr. Chandra has started a public relations campaign aimed at getting motorists to test their vehicles for high exhaust emission. Such tests are not yet mandatory in India, but about 200 vehicles are tested every day at specified gas stations in New Delhi with the owner's consent, Mr. Chandra said.