NEW DELHI: India`s top court on Tuesday gave the federal government two days to chalk out a plan to tackle alarming levels of smog in Delhi, the world`s most polluted capital.

An environmental body filed a petition with the Supreme Court earlier this week demanding a review of the government`s previous lacklustre attempts to control the pollution levels, describing it as a `public health emergency`.

Delhi has been shrouded in a toxic `soup` in recent days as pollution levels spiked after the Diwali festival which is marked by setting of f ear-splitting and highly polluting fireworks.

The government on Tuesday asked the court for two days tocome up with a plan, which was granted.

`Give me two days. We will have a meeting with the environment secretary and come up with a comprehensive response to the problem of Delhi pollution,` India`s solicitor general, Ranjit Kumar, told the court.

In a separate hearing in India`s environment court on Tuesday, Judge Swantanter Kumar slammed authorities of Delhi and four of its neighbouring states for not taking action sooner to control alarming levels of pollution.

Delhi authorities have so far responded to the smog by imposing a ban on setting of f fire crackers except at religious events and driving restrictions earlier this year.-AFP