SC seeks CAQM report on bad air

The court asked CAQM to submit a report in the court by October 31, enumerating the measures already put in place as well as those being contemplated to deal with the annual spike in air pollution

The Supreme Court on Tuesday called upon the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to list out the steps it has taken in anticipation of high pollution levels during the winter season in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Kartvya Path covered with smog as air pollution rises in the Capital, on Tuesday. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

A bench, led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, asked the CAQM – a statutory body set up to carry out air quality management in NCR through various orders, to submit a report in the court by October 31, enumerating the measures already put in place as well as those being contemplated to deal with the annual spike in air pollution.

The bench, which also included justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, acknowledged the submissions made by senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparajita Singh — that the onset of autumn and approaching winter require the CAQM to swing into action before the Delhi-NCR plunges into yet another health crisis.

She added that the stubble burning is also expected to commence soon in Haryana, Punjab and parts of Uttar Pradesh, necessitating the court to seek a report from the CAQM.

Accepting Singh’s request, the bench recorded in its order: “The amicus (Singh) has flagged the serious problem of air pollution with winters approaching; this is aggravated by crop burning. She submits that all these issues are before the CAQM. We call upon the CAQM to submit urgently a report as to the steps taken for controlling air pollution in and around the capital.”

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), filed in 1985, on air quality measures in the NCR. It has been ever since monitoring the steps taken by the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to improve the air quality in the region that witnesses high levels of pollution as the winter season sets in.

Notified in April 2021, the CAQM replaced the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority or EPCA, which was appointed by the top court to assist it in issuing directions aimed at dealing with air pollution in Delhi-NCR and had been active for over two decades.

On December 16, 2021, the court had asked the CAQM to zero in on “long-term solution” to the problem of pollution in Delhi-NCR, days after it issued orders on ban on construction and industrial activity and nudged the Delhi government to shut the schools. It had also directed the states of Punjab and Haryana to effectuate in-situ management of crop residue so as to prevent a surge in air pollution by smoke from stubble fires.

Every year, Delhi faces a public health crisis during most of the winter season. The crisis begins with farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, causing a smog jacket to form over Delhi. The issue is compounded by construction dust, vehicular traffic, waste burning and dirty industrial fuels, as well firecrackers burst in the days leading up to and on the day of Diwali.