The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday rapped the Delhi government for not taking active steps towards controlling the degrading air quality in the Capital.
A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar directed the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi to explain by Thursday why they had not taken adequate measures to mitigate the situation.
States pulled up
“What steps are the governments taking to handle the situation? Why didn’t you spray water using helicopters? Or are the helicopters there only for VIPs? The ambient air quality is so bad that children are not able to breathe properly,” the Bench noted.
The NGT also asked the Central Pollution Control Board as to what emergency directions it had issued in order to prevent the pollution.
“It needs to be examined why people living in Delhi have been subjected to such bad ambient air quality, which has affected their health” said the green panel. Coming down heavily on the State governments, the NGT said: “Why did the State governments not take steps after it was reported that the ambient air quality would degrade, leading to health issues.”
The respective state governments have been asked to respond to the Tribunal by Thursday.
