Explain steps to curb pollution, SC asks air quality body chief
New Delhi, August 27
Describing the pollution control boards of Delhi-NCR as “ineffective” due to staff shortage, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas to explain the steps proposed to tackle pollution and stubble burning which would spike with the onset of winter.
Make infra fully operational before winter: Rai
In a move to tackle the anticipated rise in pollution levels during the winter months, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has directed Principal Secretary (Environment and Forest) AK Singh to ensure that the Real-Time Source Apportionment infrastructure was made fully operational by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
We are almost in September and soon problems of stubble burning and pollution will crop up due to non-functional state pollution boards. Due to huge vacancies, it would be difficult to enforce the directives issued by the CAQM — Aprajita Singh, Senior Advocate
A Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka directed the CAQM chairperson to virtually appear before it during the next hearing of the matter.
“Today, the situation is that there are large number of vacant posts in the state pollution control boards rendering them ineffective…We therefore call upon the CAQM chairman to remain present through video-conferencing on the next date of hearing and explain what steps does the commission propose to take,” said the Bench, which also included Justice Augustine George Masih.
Lamenting the “sorry state of affairs” at the pollution control boards, the Bench directed the five NCR states/UT of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to fill the vacant posts urgently, preferably before April 30, 2025.
The Bench also directed the CAQM chairperson to file an affidavit explaining the steps the commission proposes to take to check the air pollution menace, often attributed to burning of paddy straw on farms in the states adjoining the Capital, and posted the matter for further hearing on September 2.
Senior advocate and amicus curiae Aprajita Singh told the Bench that a large number of vacancies were there in all state pollution control boards of Delhi-NCR.
“We are almost in September and soon problems of stubble burning and pollution will crop up due to non-functional state pollution boards. Due to huge vacancies, it would be difficult to enforce the directives issued by the CAQM,” Singh submitted.
The Rajasthan Government counsel said 395 of the 808 sanctioned posts in the state pollution control board are vacant. “Out of the 395 posts, we will be filling 115 posts in the next two months for which the process is on. The rest of the posts are to be filled through promotions and it will take some time,” he submitted.
The court warned it would summon the chairperson of the state pollution board if the vacancies were not filled expeditiously.
As the Delhi Government counsel submitted that out of the 344 sanctioned posts in Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), 233 are vacant, the Bench termed it a “sorry state of affairs” and asked the government to fill these vacancies by April 30, 2025.
As it was told that 314 of the 652 sanctioned posts were vacant in Punjab, it directed the state government to fill all vacancies by April 30.
It passed a similar order for Haryana, where 202 of the 483 sanctioned posts were vacant. The Bench was told that around 350 posts are vacant in the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board and efforts were on to fill them at the earliest.
