SC refuses to hail plea seeking WHO air quality guidelines in Delhi

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai passed the order after the application was mentioned for urgent listing on Wednesday

New Delhi

Demolition activity near Oberoi flyover, which also helps in dust pollution. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Amid Delhi’s worsening air pollution levels, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition filed by a lawyer seeking implementation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines in the city.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai passed the order after the application was mentioned for urgent listing on Wednesday, when the issue of Delhi pollution will be taken up by the court in the MC Mehta batch of matters.

The bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, asked the lawyer about his expertise even as he pressed for immediate adoption and phased implementation of the WHO guidelines. The court told the petitioner lawyer that there are enough lawyers to assist the court in the matter.

Later in the day, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court in the MC Mehta case, requested the court to seek a response from the Punjab and Haryana governments on the action taken against stubble burning ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

She presented NASA images, showing increased fire mapping in Punjab, indicating that the earlier court orders to prevent stubble burning were flouted with impunity. Singh said, “The air quality in Delhi has dropped to ‘severe’ level. We are in GRAP 3 stage.” The bench said that it will examine the issue when the matter is taken up.”

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) submitted a report to the court on Tuesday indicating that 4,195 and 363 farm fires were respectively reported from Punjab and Haryana between September 15 and November 10.