Delhi smog a 'public emergency'; SC to take up matter tomorrow

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on Tuesday a fresh plea seeking proper monitoring of the pollution level in the national capital and adjoining areas.

A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao said it wll hear the application of the apex court-appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) at 3.30 PM on Tuesday.

The EPCA, in its fresh plea, has said that it does not seek any fresh direction to curb the pollution level in the national capital and rather it seeks proper implementation of the directions already issued.

The apex court had on December 16, 2015 ordered not to register diesel-run sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and high-end private cars with engine capacity of 2000 CC and above in Delhi and National Capital Region along with a slew of measures to curb the alarming rise in pollution levels in the national capital.

The court had also directed 100 per cent hike of Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) being levied on light and heavy commercial vehicles entering Delhi.

It had also asked city government to "issueadvertisements to inform commercial traffic of the bypass routes and the imposition of the ECC imposed by this court for entry of the vehicles into Delhi."

Later on August 12 the apex court had vacated the embargo on registration of luxurious vehicles having engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi and NCR, after taking on record, the affidavits of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and others, offering to deposit one per cent of the price of the vehicles as Environment Protection Charge (EPC) before the registration.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that Centre and states need to join hands to join the pollution crisis in Delhi instead of pointing fingers and playing politics.

Calling for emergency measures, Kejriwal, following a Delhi Cabinet meeting, said that all the constructions and demolitions will be shut down, including metro constructions, for the next 5 days.

The Delhi CM announced that landfill sites would also be bulldozed.

Asking people to stay indoors, the CM stated that all schools would remain closed for the next 3 days.

“No DG will be used in Delhi for next 10 days except in hospitals and emergency places,” Kejriwal said, adding that the Badarpur power plant would also be shut down.

Stating that his government was considering reimplementation of the odd-even scheme, Kejriwal also announced that streets would be watered every day and that vacuum cleaning of roads would begin from November 10.

Kejriwal also said that the idea of causing artificial rain was discussed in the meeting. However, he claimed that not much relief could be expected soon as crop burning in other states would continue.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee at 1:30 pm to discuss the issue of missing Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmad.

The Centre on Sunday slammed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, stating that only 20% of pollution in Delhi was due to activities in other states.

The AAP government including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier blamed crop burning in Delhi’s neighbouring states for the heavy smog and pollution in Delhi which is causing breathing problems and has led to schools shutting down.

Central Environment Minister Anil Dave said that 80 per cent of Delhi’s pollution was the result of garbage burning in the city. He claimed that by blaming other states, AAP was politicising the issue.

Dave called on AAP to come out of the 'blame game mindset'.

"What help do they need? Tell us. We have provided help time to time. But implementation is state's responsibility," Dave said.

The Centre itself is set to hold a meeting with state environment ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on Monday on the issue of pollution in the capital.