Supreme Court's big remark to Centre on Delhi-NCR pollution strategy: ‘Revisit your plan’

The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that the Centre and the relevant authorities revisit their action plan to reduce air pollution levels in Delhi NCR and assess whether the current strategy has brought about any effective changes, ANI reported.

“Why don’t you revisit your action plan to see for yourself, have you brought any effective changes? And if you have, then are they less than what needed? We think it’s important to evaluate, has any of your action plan been proved to be effective or ineffective or less effective?” Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said.

The Supreme Court asked the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), what other factors contribute to the increase in air pollution in Delhi apart from stubble burning.

The Supreme Court said it was easy to blame farmers who remain unrepresented in the court. Scientific analysis of other factors (apart from stubble burning) that are contributing to the rise in air pollution also needs to be considered, the apex court added.

The court noted that the skies were clear during the COVID lockdown, despite stubble burning continuing as usual. “Stubble-burning was happening as usual. Why could people see blue skies 4-5 years ago? Why couldn’t they see now?” the SC asked.

The Supreme Court has said that it will hear the air pollution matter at least twice every month. It acknowledged that the situation may pacify post the winter season, but in this regard, “history will repeat itself”. The court had posted the matter to 10 December.

Delhi air quality remained “poor”

Delhi's air quality remained in the "poor" category on Monday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) rising to 299 at 7 AM compared to 279 at 4 PM on Sunday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The national capital has recorded "poor" air quality for the past two days after showing improvement from the "very poor" category on Sunday, when the AQI dipped to 279 from 305 reported on Saturday.

According to CPCB, Nehru Nagar recorded the highest AQI in the city at 354 as of 7 AM, placing it in the "very poor" category.

Other highly affected areas included Rohini (341), Bawana (339), RK Puram (336), Mundka (330), and Punjabi Bagh (328), all of which continued to experience hazardous air quality.

Meanwhile, the air quality scenario in Delhi-NCR has shown a consistent improvement this year, with the region recording its lowest average AQI for the January-November period in the last eight years, excluding 2020 — the COVID-19 lockdown year — according to data shared on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies)