Delhi's air pollution level has reached such alarming proportions that even Chief Justice of India (CJI) H L Dattu's grandson has to wear a mask while stepping out. The CJI's grandson stays with him in his official residence at Krishna Menon Marg in the posh Lutyens' Zone, so far believed to cleaner than other parts of Delhi. But one can't take a chance.
"Yes the situation is serious and alarming. My grandson has started wearing a mask and he then looks like a Ninja," the chief justice said on Monday, favouring for the first time imposition of hefty pollution compensation tax ranging from Rs 600-1,200 on nearly 60,000 vehicles, the bulk of them trucks, entering Delhi from outside and spewing noxious fumes while passing through the national capital.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, who is the amicus curiae (the senior assisting on an issue), responded by saying: "My wife has asthma, my daughter has asthma and I had to take steroid for the first time two days back."
"Take a positive instruction. We want your responses by Thursday," the CJI Dattu-led bench told counsels representing the Centre, Delhi government and the MCD. Most of these trucks coming from outside and bound for some other states enter Delhi as a transit route (non-destined) to save heavy toll which is charged on alternative routes.
"The pollution compensation tax should be fixed as a way to equalise the difference between toll roads and travel through Delhi. Every night, 40,000 to 60,000 trucks enter Delhi to save on toll. The principle of environment law that the polluter has to pay is now part of constitutional jurisprudence. It has become a constitutional imperative to recover these illegal savings (by the truckers), which are contrary to the mandate of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and to use these for dealing with the consequence of pollution," says SunitaNarain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment, and a member of the SCappointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) which submitted a report on the issue on Monday.
The EPCA report says the trucks account for nearly 30 per cent of the harmful particulate matter in Delhi's air.
"For a three-axle commercial vehicle and above passing through Delhi a charge of Rs 1,200 should be levied in addition to the charge they pay as toll to the municipal corporation. Trucks of two-axle and light commercial vehicles should pay an additional Rs 600 under the 'polluter pays' principle," Salve told the court which is hearing a PIL filed in 1985 by environmentalist MC Mehta.
Separate plea
A separate application by Salve said Delhi's ambient air quality most of the time stood above the danger mark, a situation which in foreign countries lead to closure of schools and stoppage of traffic till the pollution level comes back to normal.
"The NCT lives with much higher levels of pollution on a daily basis at the best of times. Winter is fast approaching and no steps have been taken since last year, in spite of assurances to the Supreme Court. It has become necessary for the SC to pass some orders, which will save the lives of the NCT residents," it said.
While a May 2014 report of the WHO said Delhi is the most polluted city in the world, a November 30, 2014 report of the EPCA had said air pollution was the fifth biggest killer in India after high blood pressure, indoor air pollution from cooking fuels, tobacco smoking and poor nutrition. It said residents of Delhi and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh have more reasons to worry as the two are among the five critically polluted cities.
In its three orders in February, March and August 2005, the court had ruled that no corridor joining different highways should pass through Delhi. Subsequently, the apex court had directed construction of Western Peripheral Road also known as Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway and Eastern Peripheral Expressway to take the non-destined trucks away to decongest Delhi. EPCA has been monitoring progress in the above directions and has brought the matter of delay and non-implementation of the directions to the court.
The court, driven by concern for growing pollution, had passed orders and directed for expeditious completion of the expressway. EPCA had been repeatedly bringing the matter to the attention of the court and also looking for alternative strategies to control truck traffic which gave birth to the idea of pollution compensation tax.
There has been a lack of clarity on the number of commercial vehicles, including trucks, that enter or leave Delhi each day and the figure of 45,000 to 60,000 is just approximate. There are a total of 127 entry points, of which 9 are major. The MCD has tendered out the operation of collecting toll at these entry points to a private concessionaire. The reserve price was announced as Rs 541 crore annually for a tender for three years.
"While it is difficult to know if the same vehicle has entered and left Delhi on the same day, it is clear that the total number has an imprint on Delhi's air, as these vehicles traverse through the city and add to emissions. The daily average number of light and heavy goods vehicles that enter and exit from the nine points are 85,799. The total commercial light and heavy duty trucks entering and leaving the city are 1,15,945 each day", the EPCA survey said.
