Supreme Court asks Centre to ensure no smog in Delhi-NCR

Ensure there is no smog in Delhi: SC tells Centre

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Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR starts functioning

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 6

As the newly constituted Commission for Air Quality Management (AQM) in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas started functioning, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to ensure there was no smog in Delhi.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde that the government has appointed former Delhi Chief Secretary MM Kutty as the chairperson of the Commission which has jurisdiction over NCR, including areas in Haryana, Punjab, UP and Rajasthan with regard to air pollution. It has started functioning from Friday itself.

Also read: Delhi’s air quality ‘very poor’, may improve slightly

“We are a court of law. This is a problem which has to be dealt with by the Executive. They have the money, the power and the resources for this. We are not abdicating our responsibility or functions but understand this, we have some limitations,” the Bench observed after a petitioner sought to draw the court’s attention to air pollution in Delhi.

“The only thing is that you ensure that there is no smog in the city. We are not concerned with commission. There are many commissions and many brains are working, but just ensure that there is no smog in the City,” it said.

Mehta said the government was making all efforts on a war footing to deal with the situation.

Maintaining that the pollution problem has to be dealt with by the Executive as it has the power, money and resources needed for it, the Bench posted the PILs on air pollution and stubble burning in Delhi-NCR for hearing on December 8.

On behalf of petitioner Aditya Dubey, senior advocate Vikas Singh said the chairman of the commission was a bureaucrat and it could have been a retired high court judge. Singh said the situation today is almost of a public health emergency and something drastic needs to be done.

As Singh pointed out that there was no member from the Union health ministry despite the fact that pollution was a health issue, the Bench said the Commission was free to talk to anybody in India.

To Singh’s submission that there was no classification of offence in the recently promulgated ordinance on air pollution and Rs 1 crore fine and five year jail term appeared arbitrary, the Bench said, “We don’t want to advise. These are all knowledgeable people and there are NGO people also.”

According to an Ordinance issued by the Centre, the Commission supersedes all other bodies/ authorities set up through judicial orders or otherwise on air quality management and in case of a conflict between orders of the Commission and those issues by state governments, the Commission’s orders will prevail. It also replaces the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) constituted by the Supreme Court more than two decades ago.