We shouldn't become the most polluted city in the world: Supreme Court told on Delhi air pollution

Even as Delhi reportedly recorded the world's worst air quality index (AQI), the Supreme Court on Thursday was told that the national capital should not become the most polluted city in the world.

A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing the Delhi pollution matter when amicus curiae and Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh said,

"We are in severe mode today. They (Delhi government) have not yet taken any pre-emptive measure yet. Nothing has been done. We should not become the most polluted city in the world."

The Court posted the matter for hearing on Monday.

In an earlier hearing, lamenting the authorities' failure to curb the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali this year, the Court said that the right to live in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right of every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"Prima facie we are of the view that no religion promotes any activity which promotes pollution or compromises with health of people," the Court said.

The Bench was hearing the case concerning pollution in Delhi and specifically examining the action taken by authorities across Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to curb stubble burning incidents.

The top court had during the last hearing asked Delhi government and Delhi Police on how the ban on firecrackers to curb pollution was flouted during Diwali celebrations in the national capital.

Pertinently, it had asked the Delhi government to consider implementing a perpetual firecracker ban.

In September, the Court pulled up the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which it had set up, for failing to take adequate steps to curb pollution in Delhi and adjacent areas. It said that although the panel has taken some steps, it has fallen short of the Court's expectations in discharging its functions.

"Though we cannot say that the Commission has not taken any action, the learned Amicus Curiae is right in submitting that the Commission has not performed the way it was expected to perform, considering the object for which the Commission was set up...We are of the view that though the Commission has taken certain steps, the Commission needs to be more active. The Commission must ensure that its efforts and directions translate into reducing the problem of pollution."

The Court had also reiterated that stubble burning, which has been pinpointed as a major reason for the pollution and declining air standards in Delhi, must stop.

Stubble burning refers to the practice of farmers setting fire to straw stubble which remains in fields after the harvest of grains like wheat and paddy. The stubble is burnt to prepare the fields for the next set of crops. It is the easiest and cheapest way to clear the fields, but leads to a drastic dip in air quality.