The High Court on Thursday pulled up the city government and civic bodies over the dangerous level of air pollution in the Capital, noting that the conditions would have been much better had they followed the court’s orders.
A Bench of Justice G.S. Sistani and Justice Anup J. Bhambhani remarked that the problem lies in the implementation of the order and not because of a lack of ideas. It also noted that air pollution needed to be tackled as a collective responsibility.
The court’s observation came while hearing a public interest petition initiated by it on the issue of air pollution in the Capital. The next date of hearing is on December 2.
Felling of trees
Senior Advocate Kailash Vasudev, who was appointed as amicus curiae in the case, referred to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) regarding the felling of trees to highlight that the Forest Department has not met the afforestation target.
He also attributed air pollution to construction activities and vehicular traffic.
The court then directed the Chief Conservator of Forests of Delhi government to appear before it on the next date of hearing. The Forest Department will have to explain its plan for increasing the forest cover here. It also asked the authorities here to ensure that building materials or ‘malba’ are not left uncovered and using the water sprinkling process while removing them.
The court additionally asked the standing counsel of all departments to be present on the next date of hearing. The case was initiated by the High Court in February 2015 and since then it has passed a slew of directions to curb air pollution here.
The Supreme Court is also seized of a separate case on the issue of air pollution in the Capital. Earlier this week, it had directed the city government to furnish day-to-day Air Quality Index (AQI) data of Delhi.
