The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Kejriwal government over rising pollution in Delhi. The Supreme Court said, 'We are not satisfied with the efforts of the Delhi government. The government has also done nothing to stop the entry of trucks.
The Supreme Court said, 'Why are there only 13 CCTVs at 113 entry points? Central government should deploy police at all these entry points. A legal team should be constituted to see if indeed the entry of vehicles is prohibited. For this we will deploy young lawyers from the Bar Association.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed objection to the Delhi government's measures to control pollution. Despite orders, Delhi Police has failed to implement stage 4 restrictions on time. GRAP-4 restrictions should remain in place for at least 3 more days. The next hearing of the case will be on November 25.
- Justice Oka: The Delhi government should tell us whether the trucks that want to enter Delhi are carrying essential goods or not. What is the mechanism for seeing this? Do you have a list of these important items?
- Delhi Govt We don't have a list yet.
- Justice Oka- If you don't have a list, it means no checking is happening. No such mechanism is mentioned in your affidavit, which states how you are preventing the entry of trucks.
- Justice Oka: We asked you to form teams for monitoring. Show in the affidavit where the orders have been complied with. You have made a very weak affidavit. You have also not mentioned how many check posts are under your supervision. If the person posting there doesn't know which essentials are exempt, then all the restrictions you're referring to will be one-sided.
- Government of Delhi: Trucks carrying medicines, oil and petroleum etc. are essential commodities.
- Justice Oka: Who is investigating everything?
- Government of Delhi: Traffic Police Officer.
- Justice Oka- We suggest that some of the younger members of the bar should visit this checkpoint to see if the restrictions are actually in place. We are tipping them to go for all 113 points.
- Justice Oka- Is there CCTV footage covering all this, who will give us the CCTV footage?
- Government of Delhi- MCD Govt will provide footage.
- Justice Oka- We are not satisfied with the Delhi government's response on compliance with restrictions, particularly on blocking entry of vehicles from outside Delhi. We were told that there are 113 entry points, but the government is saying that 13 points are being monitored. This means there is no restriction on vehicles at the remaining 100 entry points.
- Justice Oka- Despite the orders, the Delhi Police failed to implement Stage 5 restrictions. 113 There is no deployment at entry points, members of the bar must go to these points. We are happy that 13 members have come forward themselves.
AQI crossed 400 in 4 stations of Delhi.
The petition demands – stop the increasing pollution
The case has been registered on appeal by Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh. who demanded an immediate hearing in view of the current situation in Delhi.
On November 14, amicus curiae said – Delhi government has not done anything for pollution, the situation is serious. Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world.
The case is also related to pollution management in Delhi-NCR, which has been done by MC Mehta. It covers issues like vehicular pollution, its management and stubble burning in NCR states.
Last Hearing and 4 Statements of the Court…
- November 18: Take online classes till class 12 The Supreme Court ordered schools to go online up to class 12. The court said that schools up to class 10 have been made online. Do 11th and 12th graders have different lungs? Its bench directed the governments of Delhi-NCR to implement all necessary GRAP Stage 3 and Stage 4 controls to reduce AQI levels.
- November 14: Why didn't you take precautionary measures before reaching a dangerous situation? The bench asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) why precautionary measures were not taken before the air quality reached the critical category. In fact, Amicus Curiae said – CAQM should explain why they did not implement GRAP-3 before moving AQI into bad category.
- November 11: No religion supports activities that increase pollution, clean air is a fundamental right Violation of the order banning firecrackers during Diwali said no religion supports polluting activities. The Delhi government must decide within two weeks whether to extend the ban on firecrackers for the whole year. The court said that living in a clean environment is a fundamental right of every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- November 4: Something has to be done to ensure that crackers ban order is not violated next year as well The bench said that we have to take some steps so that there is no violation of firecracker ban orders during Diwali next year. Citing media reports, the bench said strict action like sealing of campuses is needed against violators of the ban.
GRAP is imposed when AQI crosses 400
To check the air pollution level, it is divided into 4 categories. For each category its standards and measures are fixed. It is called a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Under these 4 categories, the government imposes restrictions and measures to reduce pollution.
Stages of the Grape
- Stage I 'Poor' (AQI 201-300)
- Stage II 'Very Bad' (AQI 301-400)
- Stage III 'Severe' (AQI 401-450)
- Stage IV 'Severe Plus' (AQI >450)
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
