Delhi HC passes emergency directions to combat lethal air pollution

The Delhi High Court today passed several directions aimed at curbing the menace of air pollution, which has reached alarming levels in the capital region.

This, after amicus curiae Senior Advocate Kailash Vasdev requested the Bench to bring forward the hearing which was scheduled for Monday.  

Vasdev submitted that currently there are three major concerns: Fine Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) going beyond control, vehicular and industrial pollution, and pollution due to construction.

He stated that the authorities have chalked out both long-term and short-term plans, but nothing is being done on the ground. He further stated that the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal (NGT)  have all passed multiple directions, and that non-compliance of the same amounts to contempt.

The Division Bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sanjeev Sachdeva stated that although stubble burning is the visible villain, construction dust on the road and vehicular and industrial pollution are a deadly mix, and need to be dealt with separately.

The Court stated that the air quality is extremely poor and the responding authorities should take steps on an urgent basis. It therefore ordered sprinkling of water on the roads to get the dust settled, strict enforcement of the construction code and banned cutting of trees.

The Bench also asked the authorities to consider cloud seeding and said that it is not a very expensive procedure that has been used in other cities like Bangalore.

Further, the Court directed the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to hold an emergency meeting with the chief secretaries of neighboring states including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan within 3 days, and to work out a short=term plan to get the city out of this potentially lethal situation.

The Court also directed hospital authorities to ensure that they are well equipped to handle emergency cases due to air pollution, especially those affecting vulnerable members of the society like children and senior citizens.

The Delhi government, in an emergency press conference, has announced that the odd-even scheme will be made effective from Monday, November 13.

The matter will be next heard on November 16.