Take proactive steps to reduce pollution, SC tells authorities

The Supreme Court on Monday urged the authorities to take pro-active steps to bring the level of air pollution down in the national capital while asking the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to file an affidavit with clear data and an action plan on preventive measures.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai said authorities must not let pollution slide into the ‘severe’ category.

Amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh highlighted media reports indicating that several air quality monitoring stations in Delhi had not functioned during the Deepavali festival days.

“There are newspapers after newspapers saying that monitoring stations are non-functional. If the monitoring stations are not even functioning, we don’t even know when to implement GRAP (graded response action plan)… Out of 37 monitoring stations, only nine were functioning continuously on the day of Diwali,” Ms. Singh submitted in an oral mentioning.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati assured the Bench that the agencies concerned would file the required report.

On October 15, the court had permitted the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR during Deepavali with conditions aimed at balancing tradition with environmental and health concerns.

The court had made it clear that use of green firecrackers would be confined to specific hours on the festival day and its eve. The sale of green firecrackers was permitted from October 18 to 20.