New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concern over rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR. During the hearing, amicus curiae senior advocate Aparajita Singh told the court that breathing the region’s polluted air was creating a risk equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes a day. She said pollution was also affecting people’s health and voice. Chief Justice Suryakant then asked what steps were being taken to curb pollution.
The three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. The bench said the heavy volume of vehicles on roads connecting Delhi with nearby cities, and the frequent traffic jams, were a major pollution problem. The court also expressed concern over emissions from vehicles travelling to and from Delhi from Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and Greater Noida.
During the hearing, Aparajita Singh said stubble burning contributed about 14 percent to Delhi’s pollution on November 5, but there were several other local sources of pollution in the capital. According to her, the transport sector is a major cause of pollution in NCR. Smoke from power generation and waste burning is also worsening the problem.
During the discussion on stubble management, the court suggested that farmers should be encouraged to sell crop residue and that the purchase price should be announced in advance. Emphasis was also placed on providing gram panchayats with the necessary machines and systems to collect and manage stubble.
The central government told the court that several steps had been taken to control pollution. These included geo-tagging of vehicles’ pollution certificates and restrictions linked to BS-6 standards. The court made it clear that merely issuing orders was not enough and that their effective implementation was also necessary.
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