The absence of a concrete policy to deal with the growing air pollution in the capital reflects on our ability to cope up with this problem, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday and called for a multi-pronged policy to solve this menace.
A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice R. Banumathi told senior counsel and amicus curiae Harish Salve that ad hoc problems would not be helpful and bring in results, when he suggested ban or curtailment of diesel cars. The CJI told solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar and additional solicitors-general Pinki Anand and Tushar Mehta appearing for South and North Delhi Municipal Corporations, “You [the government] are earning a bad name that Delhi is the most polluted city in the world.”
The CJI said, “It is very embarrassing for us when foreign dignitaries visiting Delhi speak about the capital’s high pollution level. Last week, a judge had come from the International Court of Justice and it was embarrassing for us to tell him that this is the level of pollution in Delhi. There does not appear to be a meeting point on a problem which is a cause of concern and which affects everybody.”
While calling for a multi-pronged policy, the bench asked the municipal bodies in Delhi to be ready with an alternate arrangement to collect toll and environment compensation charge as the existing contractor, SMYR Consortium Ltd. had expressed difficulties in discharging the additional responsibility of collecting the green cess imposed by the top court. The bench asked the government to provide a platform where all stakeholders, including municipal bodies, the Delhi government, Central Pollution Control Board and others could come together for formulating short-term, medium-term and long-term policies to address the issue.
“Let there be common acceptable suggestions to solve the Delhi pollution,” the CJI said. He wondered as to why no discussion is taking place and no forum is provided for discussions and for people to come out with ideas to deal with this problem. There are different committees and they must sit together. The CJI said, “If you expect us to provide solution to every problem it is not possible.”
Mr Salve, in his application, had submitted that the Delhi air pollution levels were higher than other major cities in the rest of the world and it calls for immediate intervention by the court. The top court had already imposed an environment compensation surcharge on all light and heavy-duty commercial vehicles entering into Delhi ranging from `700 to `1,300. On Thursday, he suggested that as an interim measure, the entry of all kinds of diesel-run trucks into Delhi be banned for six weeks to see as to whether it makes “perceptible” change in the already worsened air quality. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on December 15.
