New Delhi: The Supreme Court Saturday urged the central and state governments to look “beyond politics” and find an immediate solution to the rising pollution levels in Delhi, as it proposed a few measures of its own, including a two-day lockdown.
A special bench of three judges — led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, and comprising justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant — stressed the need for an emergent intervention, noting that schools in Delhi had reopened and children were at risk of being exposed to a cocktail of the Covid virus, pollutants and dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
The court was hearing a PIL filed last year by a 17-year-old boy on the deteriorating air quality in Delhi around Diwali, and on the onset of winter.
Some immediate measures suggested by the bench to tackle the current state of “severe” air quality include a two-day lockdown to keep vehicles off roads, and a hold on stubble-burning, if there is any, in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh till the air quality improves.
The bench did not issue any order in writing, and gave the central government time until Monday, the next date of hearing in the case, to come up with its plan.
“The situation is extremely severe. We have to wear masks even while staying inside our homes. Think of two-days’ lockdown, otherwise, how will people live?” CJI Ramana told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. “The forecast says the air quality in Delhi will be in the very poor category the next few days.”
On his part, the solicitor general assured the bench that the central authority constituted to find remedial measures to keep Delhi’s air quality in control will convene a meeting Saturday evening and some emergent steps would be taken thereafter.
Justice Chandrachud expressed concern over the potential threat to children for whom schools have “just reopened after the pandemic” in Delhi. The judge referenced AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria’s statements on the severity of pollution, and questioned the Delhi government counsel, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, for keeping schools open during such “severe times”.
“Look at the seriousness of the problem, schools have opened post-Covid and children will be out at 7 in the morning. We are exposing them not just to the pandemic, but even to pollution and dengue,” the judge added.
He asked Mehra whether the Delhi government had any plan of action in place on the issue of reopening schools. “Have you responded to this emergent situation, keeping the students in mind? You are exposing their lungs to these pollutants,” the judge said. Mehra, too, sought some time to respond to the court.
The air quality in Delhi remained in the ‘severe’ category Saturday morning, with the AQI recorded at 473, PTI reported. The air quality index (AQI) of Noida and Gurgaon was recorded at 587 and 557, respectively, the report added, quoting data from the government’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
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‘Don’t blame farmers’
At the outset of the hearing, Mehta submitted that there was a spurt in stubble-burning in Punjab in the last three to four days. He said the statutory authority at the Centre had already directed states to levy a fine on farmers who resorted to stubble-burning.
The bench, however, was not inclined to accept Mehta’s suggestion that stubble-burning was the primary cause for a spurt in pollutants in Delhi. It said the contribution of stubble-burning was just around 30-40 per cent, while bursting of firecrackers, vehicular and industrial pollution were the major causes for the falling air quality.
“What have you done to tackle the other sources?” the bench asked Mehta.
Mehta said to the bench that the central government was not blaming the farmers. “I emphatically urge not to make this suggestion that we are blaming the farmers,” Mehta said, explaining the government scheme to pull out stubble, under which machines are given free of cost to marginalised farmers.
Mehta submitted that 2 lakh machines were available in the market and farmers who cannot afford could take it from cooperative society for free. “The government has given these machines to the cooperative societies at subsidised rates,” he said.
But the bench said the problem is not the availability of machines but the enforcement of policy. It asked Mehta whether the government had incentivised the scheme.
Justice Surya Kant spoke of practical problems faced by farmers and said: “They are poor farmers and they cannot afford these machines. Why can’t the state or government provide these machines free of cost to them and then market the stubble to earn revenue?” He said the government had to work out a simple economic arrangement with the farmers.
The bench then went on to seek details like how many cooperative societies have been set up, how many machines supplied, and the capital cost involved in providing the machines.
Justice Chandrachud also told Mehta to submit information on when the intervention to prevent stubble-burning began. “This year, the monsoon got delayed, hence, the window period for a farmer to sow (for) the kharif season is less compared to what it was last year or probably the year before that. You should tell us when did cooperative societies reach out to the farmers for aiding them in removal of stubble,” the judge said.
Justice Surya Kant added: “When did these agencies take up the task? The farmers are under compulsion to prepare for the next crop so whatever mechanism you created must reach the farmer in time or else it is of no use.”
The judge further said that both he and the CJI have been farmers. Therefore, he added, they are aware of the problems faced by them.
Mehta was also told to inform the court about other “effective steps” taken to stop pollution from remaining major sources.
At this, the solicitor general said the Centre had formulated mechanisms and it was up to the states to implement them effectively. As an example, he highlighted the dust-management system. and requested the bench to seek a status report from the states as well.
When Delhi government counsel Mehra referred to the rise in stubble-burning incidents, the bench stopped him from making further submissions and said: “Everyone is bashing the farmers. In Delhi there was a ban imposed on fire crackers, what happened to that? What has Delhi Police done? Tell us about that.”
At this, Mehta intervened to say that stubble-burning is just part of the problem. “We are not criticising the farmers at all and agree that a result-oriented approach is required,” he said.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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