Supreme Court asks Centre to hold emergency meeting on containing air pollution

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 15

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday to take measures such as stopping non-essential construction, transport and power plants and implementing work from home to check alarming levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

• Editorial: As Delhi chokes

“We direct the Union of India to call for an emergency meeting tomorrow with all stakeholders and discuss the areas which we have indicated above and to state what further orders they can pass or steps they can take to effectively control air pollution and to ensure implementation,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said.

Call emergency meeting... decide what industries are to be stopped, which vehicles can be prevented from plying, which power plants can be stopped. CJI-led Bench

It ordered the Principal Secretaries concerned of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to attend the meeting and make their submissions before the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.

The Bench, which also included Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant, directed the Centre and NCR states to allow their officials to work from home, as done by the Delhi Government to minimise vehicular pollution. “Decide what industries are to be stopped, which vehicles can be prevented from plying, which power plants can be stopped and how you can provide alternative power by then”, it said, asking them to submit an action plan by Wednesday, the next date of hearing.

After perusing the affidavits filed by the Centre, Delhi Government and others, the Bench, which had earlier taken exception to farmer-bashing, said, “We find that the major contributors of air pollution in National Capital Region are construction activities, running of non¬essential industries, transport and running of power plants on coal etc.”

“As far as the air pollution caused by stubble burning is concerned, the affidavits filed in the matter do indicate that stubble burning is not responsible for causing air pollution to that extent except for the two months of October and November. However, we find that there is a rise in stubble burning incidents in the states of Punjab and Haryana,” it noted.

The top court directed the state governments to persuade farmers to stop stubble burning at least for a period of two weeks.

As Solicitor General Tushar Mehta quoted statistics to say that stubble burning contributed to less than 10 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi, the Bench said the hue and cry over stubble burning was without scientific or legal basis.

Senior counsel Vikas Singh, representing petitioner Aditya Dubey, said the Centre’s affidavit made it clear that bulk of air pollution during this season was mainly caused by stubble burning.

The top court expressed unhappiness over the outcome of the commission’s meeting on Sunday, saying most of its decisions were in the nature of “long-term measures”, and not emergency steps even as it appreciated some of the steps taken by it. After going through the actual exercise undertaken at the ground level, it said the authorities had not yet indicated the broader steps they intended to take to control the factors responsible for poor air quality.

As the Delhi Government’s affidavit blamed farmers and stubble burning in neighbouring states for air pollution in the NCR, the Bench pulled it up for giving “lame excuses”, passing the buck to municipal corporations.

To the court’s query about steps taken for cleaning of roads, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing Delhi Government, said the municipal corporations may be asked to file an affidavit on this point.

“Such kind of lame excuses will force us to hold an audit of the revenue you are earning and spend on popularity slogans, instead of looking after people,” the Bench told Mehra, who later submitted that 69 mechanical road sweeper machines were being used and that the government would work on a war-footing.

As air pollution in Delhi-NCR reaches alarming proportions, the top court had on Saturday asked the government to take immediate steps, including a lockdown, to deal with the “emergency” situation.

Pulls up Delhi Govt for shifting blame

• As Delhi affidavit blamed stubble burning in neighbouring states for NCR pollution, the SC pulled it up for giving “lame excuses”.

Cong seeks ‘white paper’ from govt

• The Congress demanded a “white paper” from the Centre and Delhi Government on steps taken to tackle pollution in the NCR.

UP, Pb, Hry to attend

• Principal Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi told to attend meeting
• Will make submissions before the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas

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