‘Curbs won’t work unless people act’: SC says pollution fight should be a people’s movement

It urged authorities to explore more effective interventions and make the public, especially children, aware of pollution’s health risks.

The Supreme Court on Friday said repeated judicial directions and restrictions alone would not help tackle Delhi-NCR’s worsening air pollution, stressing that the fight against pollution needed to become a people’s movement, driven by public awareness and a willingness to change everyday behaviour.

The observations came amid a sharp deterioration in Delhi’s air quality (HT PHOTO)

“No restrictions can work unless people realise the problem and act. More the orders from this court, violations will multiply… that is the tendency of people,” a bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana observed, underlining the limits of judicial intervention in addressing the recurring pollution crisis.

Opening the exchange with a pointed remark on the deteriorating air quality, CJI Kant told lawyers: “We hope you are all enjoying the Delhi weather.”

The bench said Delhi was likely to experience AQI levels above 300 from November onwards and for the next several months, adding that the immediate challenge was to prevent the situation from worsening.

The court, hearing a matter concerning air pollution in the national capital, said authorities needed to focus on awareness measures, particularly to protect children, and asked what steps were being taken to make people conscious of the health risks posed by deteriorating air quality.

“Diwali celebration should be with people’s awareness. Make it a people’s movement,” the bench said, emphasising that citizens needed to recognise their role in tackling pollution rather than relying entirely on government restrictions and court orders.

The observations came amid a sharp deterioration in Delhi’s air quality. The official AQI for Friday stood at 382 in the “very poor” category, just 18 points below the “severe” threshold.

The bench said the Capital had come to expect “poor” and “very poor” air from November onwards, but the immediate concern was to prevent conditions from deteriorating further.

“What are the kind of unusual steps that can be taken during this period? The problem is known, we are wondering what the solution can be,” it asked, questioning whether measures deployed by authorities over the years had yielded meaningful results.

The observations also came days after the Supreme Court, in an October 29 order made public earlier this week, permitted the sale of certified green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR between November 4 and 6, and their bursting only between 6am and 7am and 8pm and 10pm on November 7 and 8. A complete ban is to be restored from November 9.

The court had said the complete ban had failed to curb the illegal sale of conventional firecrackers and that a regulated approach was preferable for the time being. The relaxation was accompanied by the requirement that the blanket ban be restored from November 9.

The bench identified vehicular emissions as a major source of pollution, pointing to persistent traffic congestion not only in Delhi but also in neighbouring NCR cities such as Noida and Gurugram.

“One major reason of pollution is vehicular pollution… in Delhi or NCR cities like Noida or Gurugram. There is bumper-to-bumper traffic everywhere,” it observed, adding that people had their own reasons for relying on private transport, particularly because public transport remained inadequate.

Amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh told the court that stubble burning accounted for around 14% of pollution, while vehicular emissions were a bigger concern. Crop-residue burning aggravated the situation, she said, but Delhi also had several significant local sources of pollution that needed to be addressed.

Singh flagged continued congestion at toll plazas and collection points, saying earlier directions issued by the court in January and March to decongest them had not been fully implemented. She also said restrictions on the entry of vehicles from the National Capital Region into Delhi were proving counterproductive, as vehicles were being forced to idle at entry points, adding to pollution.

Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), informed the bench about measures being undertaken under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Senior advocate Sanjiv Sen, appearing for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), said there was no idling at nine toll plazas and that the necessary infrastructure was in place. These plazas handled around 90% of the traffic, and testing of the new system was under way, he said.

The bench, however, questioned whether authorities were exploring measures beyond conventional steps such as stopping vehicles, deploying water sprinklers and imposing restrictions, which it said had repeatedly been tried without adequately addressing the problem.

“Are there some novel measures being undertaken? All these measures about stopping vehicles, sprinklers etc have been tried and they seem to have failed,” it asked.

Bhati said considerable efforts had gone into tackling pollution and it would not be correct to say they had completely failed. However, she acknowledged that the results fell short, given Delhi’s geographical location and growing human activity.

The bench said the challenge was to identify more effective interventions during the months when pollution levels routinely remained high, rather than simply repeating measures that had not delivered the desired results. It said it would take the CAQM’s status report on record and issue directions before listing the matter again after the Diwali break.