The National Green Tribunal had recently slammed the Delhi government for not acting "seriously" on mounting pollution problem. The NGT had also directed the Delhi government to issue a notification within a week listing the most polluted areas in the city.

In seven out of 10 monitoring stations of the Central Pollution Control Board across Delhi, PM 2.5 was found to be the major pollutant. The permissible limit for PM 2.5 is 60 micro grams per cubic metre, which the court was referring to.

In fact, the Delhi high court had even said that the current air pollution levels in the national capital had reached "alarming" proportions and that living in the city was like "living in a gas chamber"