The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas to explain about the steps being taken to curb air pollution due to crop residue burning.

A bench of Justices Abha S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to apprise about the steps on September 27, when the issue will be taken up for hearing.

Senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, referred to some newspaper reports and said it appears that stubble burning has started in neighbouring states of Delhi.

She urged the court to seek explanation from the CAQM on what steps are being taken to curb air pollution caused by stubble burning and what steps are being taken to fix accountability on officials responsible for checking the burning of paddy straw under the CAQM Act.

Justice Oka told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, that the court wants answers on these questions by Friday.

The bench said that since the PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on the issue of air pollution in Delhi-NCR is coming up for hearing on September 27, it would like to see the response of CAQM on stubble burning.

The top court had earlier in the matter noted that stubble burning was one of the causes for a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR during winters.

On August 27, calling the pollution control boards of Delhi and NCR states "ineffective" due to staff shortage, the apex court asked the body responsible for air quality management in the national capital and adjoining areas to explain how it proposes to tackle pollution and stubble burning which would spike with the onset of winter.

It had wondered how the sub-committee on safeguarding and enforcement to be constituted by the CAQM would function due to lack of representation from the state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh due to the vacancies.

It directed the five NCR states to fill the vacant posts urgently, preferably before April 30, 2025.

The top court had directed the CAQM chairperson to file an affidavit explaining the steps the commission proposes to take to check the air pollution menace, often attributed to burning of paddy straw on farms in the states adjoining the national capital.