The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday rapped the Delhi government for not submitting an action report on tackling the heavy pollution levels in the city.
A Bench of the tribunal, headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar, came down heavily on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, saying, “Tell us one step that you have taken with regard to the previous orders passed by the tribunal. Are the people of Delhi always supposed to suffer? We had told you to shut all offices in case of emergent situations, what have you done? Children are also suffering. You cannot subject people to this.”
Referring to the India-Sri Lanka match, which was briefly stalled on Sunday due to poor air quality, the Bench said, “Look at people abandoning matches. You simply keep holding meeting after meeting, and not do anything else.”
The panel told the government that heavy fines would be imposed if a report was not filed within 48 hours.
The tribunal rapped the government for not taking action against two-wheelers, which is a major contributor to the air pollution. “You want to exempt two-wheelers, despite them being the ones which pollute more. Why haven’t you provided proper public transport which will help people?” it said.
