The Supreme Court on Tuesday slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the Union Environment Ministry for not finalising pollution emission standards for 34 categories of industries using pet coke and furnace oil in the national capital region.
The bench of Justices Madan B lokur and Deepak Gupta termed its “disgusting” how the Centre refused to issue notification on the emission standards despite being given two opportunities over the past five months. The Court had directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to complete the process before June 30 this year.
“What were you (MoEF) doing for 3-4 monthsIJ You file an affidavit and say we do not care about pollution. Industries have said they would comply with whatever standards are fixed and the Ministry sits on it. We do not know what is going on,” the bench said.
The court was hearing a PIl filed in 1985 by environmentalist MC Mehta on the issue of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The Court was informed about the ill-effects of pet coke and furnace oil on the ambient air quality and emissions from industrial units using these fuels were shown to emit highly toxic gases with high sulphur content.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh appearing for MoEF told the court that a draft notification in this regard has been prepared and a period of 60 days has been set apart for raising objections on it.
However, the bench was unhappy over the Government’s casual approach and imposed a cost of Rs 2 lakh as it noted how its May 2, 2017 order was flouted. The problems increased for the MoEF as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed the Court that it had indicated about emission standards to the Centre in June itself.
Even the apex court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had agreed with the petitioner and claimed that emission of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides has to be brought down for improving the quality of air in Delhi-NCR.