As the Supreme Court on Monday banned 15-year-old petrol vehicles and 10-year-old diesel vehicles from plying in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), national Capital air quality has been predicted to deteriorate “drastically” on Tuesday.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) on Monday said stubble fire counts has increased “tremendously” in past 24 hours.
The Supreme Court also instructed the transport department to impound such vehicles if they are found on the road. “A list of these vehicles should be published on the websites of the Central Pollution Control Board CPCB) and the transport department, and an advertisement should be published in newspapers,” said the court.
The Supreme Court passed these directions on a note placed before it by advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus in the air pollution matter, seeking urgent directions to correct the prevailing situation of pollution.
The court also directed the CPCB to immediately create a social media account on which citizens could lodge their complaints directly about pollution. Appropriate action could be taken by the authorities concerned on the written complaints, the SC added.
The court has posted the matter for hearing on November 1.
In 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned 15-year-old petrol vehicles and 10-year-old diesel vehicles. The following year, the NGT directed authorities in the NCR and Delhi to begin deregistering all diesel vehicles in the capital that are more than a decade old.
During the hearing on Monday, the Bench referred to media reports that people should not go on morning walk due to the high levels of pollution. “Have you gone to old Delhi railway station? Poor people there have to work to earn their livelihood. The kind of exertion they undergo is much more than those walking in the morning at Lodhi Gardens,” the Bench told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ANS Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre.
“They are doing heavy duty manual work. You cannot tell them that you stop your work because it is unsafe for you to work in the morning.
This is a very critical situation,” said the Bench, adding, “It is horrible”.
The Bench told Nadkarni that authorities would have to do their work properly and find out solutions.
Nadkarni told the court that he supports the suggestion given by the amicus about creating a social media account so that citizens could lodge complaints about pollution.
The amicus referred to a note prepared by EPCA chairman which contained details and photographs of garbage burning in several parts of Delhi, including Bawana, Narela, Dwarka, Nangloi and Mundka.
The Bench, after perusing the photographs, termed it as “terrible state of affairs” and asked the Delhi Government and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) to file their affidavits in this regard within two days.
The petitioner told the Bench that citizens in the national Capital are facing health emergency due to pollution and currently the air quality was under “very poor” level. She said Badarpur power plant and coal based power plants have been closed in Delhi and EPCA has given directions which are meant to deal with “severe” air quality level.
“The problem is always of implementation (of directions passed by the court). Implementation is at such a dismal pace. They (authorities) have got a good excuse in crop burning today. But in Delhi, people will continue to drive their luxury diesel vehicles. Farmers who are in distress are forced to buy farm equipments but people in Delhi will continue to maintain luxury,” she added.
She said only farmers cannot be blamed for pollution due to crop burning as the Ministry of Earth Sciences has said that pollution load from transport was around 41 per cent.
The counsel appearing for transport department of the Delhi Government said no 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles should ply on roads and no fitness certificate was issued to such vehicles beyond this period.
The court had rejected a plea against the NGT’s order banning plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles on Delhi roads. The top court is seized of matters in which several issues related to air pollution in the Delhi-NCR have been raised.