NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court asked the Centre and Delhi government to come up with suggestions to defuse the capital's air pollution crisis, solicitor general Ranjit Sinha has asked three key ministries to provide their action plans to be submitted in the apex court.
In his letter to secretaries of home, road transport and environment, Sinha has stated that SC would like to know what steps have been taken to check pollution, whether the Centre has ever discussed the issue and prepared a plan.
The citizens of Delhi cannot be allowed to suffer and that nothing has been placed on record by the Centre as to what it has thought of the matter, and what it plans to do to reduce pollution, Sinha said quoting the concerns expressed by the apex court.
Stating that the court is serious and wanted solutions including why trucks should not be banned to enter Delhi and ban on diesel vehicles, Sinha asked the ministries to place relevant reports, action taken and proposed.
Sources said the ministries have already submitted their plans to deal with increasing vehicle congestion before the National Green Tribunal. The option is obviously to introduce cleaner and alternative fuel, phasing out old polluting vehicles and promoting public transport by increasing buses, expanding mass transit system and also strengthening intermediary public transport, said a central government official.
