Delhi has converted commercial vehicles to CNG, introduced Euro IV petrol and diesel this April and introduced new buses, but air pollution is still above permissible limits, with respirable suspended air particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) continuing to increase in the past year. “Many options are being considered by the Delhi government. One of them is a congestion charge on cars,” Environment Secretary Dharmendra told Newsline.

At its first meeting, a recently notified Transport Committee, headed by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, mooted the idea of increasing parking rates in certain parts of the city.

An analysis of air pollution data done by the Centre for Science and Environment said nitrogen oxide levels and RSPM levels are growing steadily. “RSPM is growing steadily in the city. So are nitrogen oxides, which contribute to the creation of ozone, a dangerous pollutant. In 2010, till April, the PM2.5 levels exceeded the standards on 92 per cent of the days monitored,” said CSE’s Anumita Roychoudhary.

Sunita Godara, a marathon runner, pointed out that Games venues should not be close to roads. “Marathon runners have to breathe through their mouths. This means we don’t have any filtration and we directly ingest pollutants. Earlier, the Nehru Stadium had warm up tracks. Now, they have been removed and the stadium is right next to the road. Even at the Thyagaraj Stadium, there is no open area or warm-up track. In other countries, stadia are kept 100 metres away from roads,” she said.