Delhi Air Pollution: Supreme Court expressed concern over the pollution of Delhi-NCR. At the hearing the air was described as being like smoking 30 cigarettes. The court questioned vehicles, stubble and pollution control measures.
Delhi NCR Pollution: The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern about the increasing air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The air of the capital is continuously becoming poisonous. The situation is such that during the hearing in the court, the senior lawyer said that breathing the air of NCR is like smoking 30 cigarettes daily. On this, the court questioned the causes of pollution and the steps being taken by the government to stop it.
On Friday, November 6, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant heard the pollution case in Delhi-NCR. The bench also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
Supreme Court’s concern over pollution caused by vehicles
During the hearing, the Supreme Court cited the increasing number of vehicles and jams on the roads in Delhi-NCR as the major reason for pollution. The Chief Justice said that there is bumper-to-bumper traffic on the roads connecting Delhi and surrounding areas. The court questioned whether stubble burning alone is responsible for pollution or the emissions from private vehicles and big vehicles are also a major reason for it.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the central government, told the court that several steps have been taken to stop pollution. These include ban on entry of certain vehicles, geo-tagging of Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUC) and action against vehicles emitting excessive smoke.
There was also discussion on stubble burning
The issue of stubble burning also came up during the hearing. The court said that it is necessary to make farmers aware about other uses of stubble and the economic benefits of not burning it. The court also suggested that the price of purchase of stubble should be declared in advance and arrangements for its management should be made available to Gram Panchayats.
It was told by the Central Government that on Thursday the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution was about 14 percent. However, the court also indicated that farmers alone cannot be held responsible for pollution.
Experts’ opinion given preference on school closure
Due to increasing pollution in Delhi-NCR, the demand for closing schools and running online classes was also raised during the hearing. On this, the Supreme Court said that it will take any decision regarding schools only on the basis of experts’ opinion. The court talked about giving importance to the measures decided under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and the recommendations of experts.
AQI close to 400, air severe in many areas
On November 6, Delhi’s average AQI was recorded between 389 and 391. Air quality reached severe category in many areas. The Supreme Court also expressed concern over this and said that AQI is reaching around 400, while it is said that continuous steps are being taken to stop pollution.
The court made it clear that merely imposing restrictions and issuing orders will not provide a permanent solution to the problem. This requires immediate, medium term and long term measures. The next hearing in the case will be on November 16.