Air pollution: SC comes down hard on govt; summons chief secretaries, asks for experts to suggest measures

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Centre and the Delhi government for their inaction on the air pollution choking the national capital, reports legal news website barandbench.com.

The Special Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta took up the issue of air pollution in North India, and specifically the hazardous situation in Delhi.

Justice Mishra, visibly miffed and worried about the situation, said, "The main question today is of air pollution. Delhi is choking every year and we are not able to do anything."

Noting that this is a yearly phenomenon, despite which there appears to be no action from the authorities, the Court said, "State machinery is not functioning properly and then there is passing the buck, Delhi should do or Centre should do......every year this is happening, and this continues for 10-15 days. This cannot be done in a civilized country."

The air quality index in Delhi and other parts of Northern India has crossed hazardous and toxic levels, the court noted. It further observed that "no room in Delhi is safe". Despite installing air purifiers, the PM 2.5 levels were at 500 and 600, indicating a grim situation, the Bench said.

"The right to life is the most important. We can't live like this, cannot survive in this atmosphere. We are losing precious years of our life," it observed.

It directed the government of Delhi to take assistance from the EPCA to deal with the issue of waste management and garbage burning. The EPCA, it said, must also consider whether restrictions need to be imposed on the entry of diesel vehicles in Delhi NCR

Stubble burning is one of the major factors and contributors to air pollution, the court pointed out, but despite the yearly "hue and cry" about it, it was continuing unabated, and must stop immediately, the court said.

There are rules and regulations as regards crop burning is concerned in Punjab, Justice Gupta observed. The court pulled up the state governments of Punjab and Haryana over their failure to curb incidents of crop burning. "Crop burning is a tort... If it is a tort, state govt and gram panchayats are also responsible. We will haul the authorities from bottom to top in case of more violations. People are only interested in gimmicks and electioneering in this country," the court said.

It directed the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to be present in court on Wednesday to explain why the authorities were not able to clamp down on stubble burning.

The Court has sought the presence of an environmental expert from IIT Delhi as well as a representative from the Ministry of Environment and Forests to suggest immediate steps that can be taken to deal with air pollution.

Following the direction, renowned environmentalist and director of Centre for science and environment, Sunita Narain submitted before the Court that between Punjab and Haryana, Haryana has largely controlled burning, enforcement in Punjab is poor.

The court also asked for a remedy to counter stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. "You are asking people to die? Is this what the administration in Punjab and Haryana want?... Crop burning is a serious issue, and now, we need a remedy to stop it."

The court also emphasized long-term planning to counter the menace of air pollution, as every year Delhi chokes due to severe air pollution.

The court said, "People have been advised not to visit Delhi. What is this happening?"

The court also passed several other orders and directions, as follows:

--Delhi Government was asked to produce by Friday data or records to prove that its Odd-Even Scheme has reduced pollution in Delhi, even as autos/taxis continue to ply the roads.

--A ban on all construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR region. Any person found violating the ban to be fined with Rs 1 lakh.

--Municipal bodies to prevent open dumping and burning of garbage. Violators to be fined with Rs 5000 for burning garbage.

-- Supreme Court orders that no power cuts should take place in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to ensure that no diesel generators are used. High powered committee of states to meet today and the report to be submitted on November 6

--Supreme Court orders Delhi Government to produce by Friday, data or records to prove that Odd Even scheme has reduced pollution in Delhi, even as autos/taxis continue to ply the roads.

--Coal-based industries were directed to stop all activity till further orders.

--Delhi government asked to take steps such as water sprinkling to ensure dust settlement.

The next date of hearing in the matter has been fixed on November 6.

Meanwhile, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar tweeted an image titled ‘Fire data for last 48 hours’ that seems to suggest that Punjab accounted for most such incidents, while Haryana was largely untouched, although the same could not be independently verified.

Another user posted an animated image suggesting that air pollution was affecting many other parts of the country as well.

‘It's not just #Delhi, most of India is hit by #AirPollution crisis. Dispersion Models suggest that the plume is travelling across India (in east coast too). It's a #NationalHealthCrisis! Source: SILAM (Asia)