SC to take up plea on Delhi-NCR air pollution tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up on December 17 a plea related to worsening air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR after amicus curiae Aparajita Singh complained that authorities didn’t comply with the protocols ordered to be put in place.

“We know the problem and let’s pass orders which can be complied with. There are some directions which can be forcibly imposed. In these urban metropolitan cities, people have their own lifestyle. But the poor…,” a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told Singh, who submitted that though the preventive measures were there in place, the key issue was of their poor implementation by the authorities.

“This will come up before a three-judge Bench on Wednesday. It will come up,” the CJI said.

Another lawyer raised the issue of children’s health and said despite the court’s earlier orders, schools were holding outdoor sports activities.

“Despite the court order, schools have found ways and means to have these sporting activities. The CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) is again citing the order of this court,” Singh told the Bench, adding the poor labourers were the worst ones to suffer.

“The Delhi pollution matter cannot be listed customarily in October and rather it should be taken up regularly at least twice a month,” the CJI had said on December 1. It had said the case would be taken twice in a month to find out short and long-term solutions to the menace.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) AQI bulletin released on December 14 at 4 pm, Delhi recorded an average AQI of 461in the last 24 hours.

As Delhi-NCR continues to battle poor or very poor air quality for weeks, CJI Kant on Sunday advised lawyers and litigants to use video-conferencing facilities to virtually appear before the Supreme Court in their cases.

At present, the top court functions in hybrid mode conducting its proceedings through both physical and virtual modes.