A Supreme Court of India (SC) bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Vipul M Pamcholi and Joymalya Bagchi today listed the hearing on worsening air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR on December 17, PTI reported.
“This will come up on Wednesday (December 17) before a three-judge bench. It will happen,” the CJI said.
Air pollution in Delhi: How is the hearing?
The bench heard a submission from senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting the case as amicus curiae. She told the oversight committee that while precautions have been put in place, poor implementation by authorities needs to be addressed and that until the court issues guidelines, compliance with protocols is lagging.
Another lawyer referred to the application regarding the health issue of children and said that schools are conducting outdoor sports activities despite earlier orders. “Despite this court’s order, schools have found ways and means to have these sports activities..it’s happening. CAQM (Commission on Air Quality Management) again cites this court’s order,” the amicus also said.
“We know the problem and let us issue orders that can be implemented. There are certain directions that can be imposed by force. In these urban metropolises, people have their own lifestyle. But the poor…,” the CJI said.
Amicus said poor workers suffer the worst.
The court had previously said that the air pollution challenge could not be considered an “ordinary” case that is only brought in the winter months.
She said the case would be heard twice a month to find short-term and long-term solutions to the menace.
Delhi AQI settled at 498 in the ‘North’ category.
Delhi suffocated under a thick blanket of smog on Monday, with the air quality index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of the “severe” category.
Air quality was “severe” at 38 stations, while it was “very poor” at two stations. Jahangirpuri, which recorded an AQI of 498, recorded the worst air quality among all 40 stations.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 as “moderate”, 201 to 300 as “bad”, 301 to 400 as “very bad” and 5000 always as “very bad”
Delhi’s AQI hit 461 on Sunday, marking the city’s most polluted day this winter and the second-worst December air quality day on record, as light winds and cool temperatures trapped pollutants near the surface.
