A three-judge green bench comprising justice A.K. Patnaik, S.S. Nijjar and F.M.I. Kalifulla also sought replies from the Haryana, UP and Rajasthan governments in three weeks in this regard.

The plea was filed by amicus curiae and senior advocate Harish Salve, who is assisting the court in pollution related matters. It points to the alarming rise in air pollution in the national capital.

The application contends that 3,000 children die annually in Delhi due to increasing pollution levels to which the rising number of diesel cars on the roads has contributed in a significant way.

Salve sought a direction for higher taxes on car-owners and a time-bound action plan for augmentation of public transport services along with the necessary action to remove entry taxes on public buses at state borders. The counsel had submitted the latest report by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the National Capital Region (NCR), which has been converted into an application by the bench.

The plea seeks a 30% surcharge on cost of diesel cars, a drastic increase in registration fees for personal cars and a proportional decrease in similar fees for buses to improve air quality in the national capital.

The report said that Delhi was able to arrest and lower air pollution with the introduction of CNG vehicles, but has not been able to sustain these gains with air pollution levels again rising due to the growing number of vehicles in the city.

“Since 2007, particulate levels have increased by 75%. (But) during the decade 2002 to 2012, vehicle numbers have increased by as much as 97%, contributing enormously to pollution and direct exposure to toxic fumes.” “Studies show that about 55% of Delhi’s 17 million people who live within 500 metres of roads are directly exposed to toxic vehicular fumes,” it said.