The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Centre and the Delhi Government for failing to devise any short-term or long-term solutions to rid Delhi of its “most polluted city in the world” tag.
“It is a very serious issue that Delhi is getting a bad name internationally as one of the most polluted cities in the world. One who comes here from Hague, Amsterdam feels the difference and it is very embarrassing to tell them that the outside air here is very polluted and we do not have a solution for it,” said a Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi.
The observations came during the hearing on an application filed by senior advocate Harish Salve at whose instance the court had imposed an Environment Compensation Charge on trucks crossing through Delhi. Salve proposed immediate measures such as imposing complete ban on all commercial vehicles passing through Delhi for the next 15 days and a ban on registration of diesel-run cars or withdrawal of subsidy on fuel. The court sought to know the flip side of banning diesel cars in the city, and fixed the matter for hearing on Tuesday.
In 2001, the SC had directed that trucks be stopped from entering Delhi except for those ferrying essential goods for the Capital, Salve said. “Diesel being a major pollutant was meant to be subsidized for trucks carrying essential goods and supplies and not private cars and taxis” he added.
The Bench told Salve: “If you think stopping diesel cars in Delhi will reduce pollution, you must also tell us the flip side of banning diesel cars in the city, and its consequences.” The matter will be heard on Tuesday.
The SC was upset that despite alarming pollution levels, neither the Centre nor the Delhi Government had called for a joint meeting of all stakeholders for a “common minimum acceptable programme” to remedy the situation.
The Bench asked: “Are the Central and State Governments going different ways on this issueIJ This is an emergency which requires a multi-pronged approach. You must sit together and do brainstorming to suggest long-term and short-terms measures. There ought to be a consultative process where all necessary stakeholders must discuss and prepare a common minimum acceptable programme that we can implement.”
The court’s concern could also be gauged by the fact that a recent study of air samples collected from the SC’s compound threw up alarming results. The Bench told Salve and other lawyers present in the case that the tests of the air samples showed Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentration of 600. The study was undertaken by environmentalist Sunita Narain. “The limit for PM2.5 is 60 but the report Sunita Narain has given us says it’s 600. We have asked the Central Pollution Control Board to cross-check and suggest remedial measures.”
Salve, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae pointed out that PM2.5 last year was over 300, which showed that pollution levels in the city have doubled.
On the next hearing, the Bench will also decide a petition filed by the toll collector SMYR Consortium llP which is facing a deficit of Rs 3.16 crore per week due to reduced truck inflow. Under the contract obligation, the company has to return Rs 10.5 crore every week to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The court asked SDMC to work out an alternative plan in the event that the contractor quits.