The Supreme Court on Monday lamented that it was being “forced to set the agenda” on the pollution crisis in the National Capital Region (NCR) as it pulled up the Delhi government for “passing the buck”, the Centre for not proposing “drastic measures”, and NCR states for doing little to control what has become an annual public health crisis.
In a hearing on Monday, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, gave the Centre and state governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh 24 hours to hold an emergency meeting and prepare a list of urgent steps that can be put in place immediately to bring down the levels of pollution in the “forseeable future”.
“We want you to come out with concrete action plan by tomorrow. All the three governments and the Centre (must) come out with concrete steps. Otherwise, don’t blame us for passing any direction we deem appropriate,” said the bench, fixing Wednesday as the next day of hearing.
The bench, which alsoincluded justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant, listed out the areas of concern, including work for home for all offices in Delhi, and dissuading farmers from burning stubble for two weeks in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The focus of the court, however, was clearly on emergency mitigation to control local sources of pollution, asking for the Centre and states to focus on curtailing activities such as construction, traffic and road transport, industries, and power plants.
{{/usCountry}}The focus of the court, however, was clearly on emergency mitigation to control local sources of pollution, asking for the Centre and states to focus on curtailing activities such as construction, traffic and road transport, industries, and power plants.
{{/usCountry}}“It is very unfortunate we have to set an agenda for the governments. When we heard this matter on Friday, we thought you will conduct a meeting and come up with something concrete. But nothing is there... tell us about the drastic steps that you must take to bring down the levels of pollution in the next two-three days,” the bench told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre.
It reiterated that the Centre and Delhi government should consider a lockdown of a few days in the national capital to control the road traffic and vehicular pollution, besides curtailing road dust which, according to the governments, has been a prime cause of pollution.
The court’s directions come at the time when pollution in the region has oscillated between “severe” (400-plus) and “very poor” (300-400) – hazardous levels on the air quality index (AQI) scale – as they do every year in the first few weeks of November, and none of the measures put in place by administrations at various levels seem to have worked. Except for Sunday, when it was 330, the AQI has been at the upper end of very poor or well into severe category since Diwali on November 4.
Farm fires
When the hearing commenced on Monday, senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for the 17-year-old petitioner, Aditya Dubey, blamed politics for not taking action against farmers even though stubble burning has been a major contributor to air pollution in the pre-winter weeks. He said that because Punjab and Uttar Pradesh go for the assembly polls next year, no steps are being taken.
“We don’t want any politics. We only want pollution to come down. We are not concerned with election or politics. Let us see how pollution can be brought down,” retorted the bench.
On his part, the S-G read out from the affidavits filed by the Union government regarding the steps taken by various authorities, and conceded that stubble burning is not a chief contributor to the worsening air quality.
He said that farm fires contributed a meagre 10% to the bad air a day ago and they are problematic only during the two months in the pre-winter and winter weeks.
“Are you agreeing in principle that farm fires is not a chief reason for rise in pollution? So, all the hue and cry over farm fires actually had no legal, scientific or rational basis... your own affidavit shows that stubble burning contributes only 4% annually. So, we are trying to target something which is an insignificant source of pollution,” said the bench.
It pointed out that the Centre’s own submissions showed that 75% of the pollution is due to three factors -- industries, road dust, and vehicles. “If we have to reduce the pollution drastically, you will have to focus on these three factors to see the effect in the next few days. So, you have to tell us what are the steps that you plan to take immediately. Why don’t you stop plying of vehicles in Delhi for two days? This is a decision you have to take,” said the bench.
It noted that although some decisions were taken by the authorities over the last two days, they “have not yet indicated the broader steps that they are going to take to control the factors which are responsible for poor air quality.”
“The moment we say something, you start saying we are overreaching, etc. But what to do when we need to even fix the agenda of your meetings,” it remarked.
The court also pulled up the counsel for the Punjab government for not taking effective steps to mitigate the issue. “In your affidavit, you are very loudly saying that you have imposed fines on farmers for stubble burning in terms of the order of the National Green Tribunal. But why are you completely silent on what incentives are providing to these farmers? You don’t disclose anything in your affidavit about incentivising them and what you propose is just a paper exercise,” it commented.
Lockdown in Delhi?
Mehta responded that certain drastic measures in contemplation included imposing a lockdown in the Capital, besides completely stopping entry of trucks in Delhi. However, the S-G added, experts have advised that these steps could wait.
Senior counsel Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, said that the city government was willing to impose a lockdown but this will have to be implemented through the NCR, including the cities in Delhi’s adjoining states of UP and Haryana.
“We are only concerned about bringing down the pollution levels. You need to decide what steps are to be taken,” replied the court.
The Delhi government was also reproached by the bench when it could not give out details of the road cleaning machines that were deployed in the national capital. Instead, Mehra submitted that BJP-headed municipal corporations should apprise the court of these details.
“You are only passing the buck. Your lame excuses will force us to hold an audit of revenue you are earning and spending on popularity slogans. People are suffering and you are not bothered,” the bench told Mehra.
Mehra said that the city government is willing to take all possible steps and would also release more funds for the machines immediately.
The court then adjourned the hearing to Wednesday, asking the Centre and states to enumerate the steps to be taken immediately.
The air quality crisis in the Delhi has been an annual affair with recordings illustrating the problem only 2015 onwards.
A significant change of meteorological parameters and the combination of two man-made factors – farm fires and Diwali celebrations – invariably combine to push the quality of air into zones unfit for breathing.
Beginning mid-October, winter conditions begin to develop, marked by a drop-off in winds. These winds come in from the northwest, as opposed to the southeast during monsoon, and carry ultrafine PM2.5 particles that originated as smoke from farm fires.
This period is also the peak for farm fires as farmers clear paddy stubble left behind after harvest – this year, 77,997 fires were spotted between October 1 and November 14, according to the Suomi-NPP satellite’s VIIRS algorithm. This is the second highest number of fires for this interval seen since 2012 -- the earliest year for which this satellite has data -- after 2016, when 94,803 fires were observed by the satellite.
Diwali celebrations, which too fall in October-November period, further add to the air pollution temporarily as people burst firecrackers despite a long-standing ban.