Taking a serious note of the severe air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) issued a slew of directions and asked the NHAI and the MCD to consider either temporary closing or relocating the nine toll plazas at borders of the national capital to ease usual massive traffic congestion.
The Supreme Court described the pollution crisis as an "annual feature" and called for pragmatic and practical solutions to tackle the menace.
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It, however, refused to interfere with the Delhi government's decision to close schools for students from nursery to Class 5, holding that no further tinkering was required as the winter break was already approaching.
In an effort to ease vehicular congestion at Delhi's borders, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to consider shifting or temporarily closing nine toll plazas located at entry points to the capital.
