NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday termed "alarming" the figure of nearly 10,000 tonnes of particulate matter emitted due to paddy straw burning this season.
"These are alarming statistics...appear to be the main cause of air pollution," a bench of justices B D Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar said, asking the authorities for more details.
An affidavit filed by Central Pollution Control Board revea led that 9,000 tonnes of PM2.5 and 10,000 tonnes of PM10 were generated from burning of stubble by Punjab alone during a 20-day period and these pollutants do not dissipate easily from the environment. PM2.5 is included in the PM10 figures, CPCB clarified.
The high court said that its monitoring of steps taken to combat air pollution is not just to prevent pollution but also to reverse its impact. "What about what has already come into the (environment) system eve ry year? We don't just want prevention, but we want reversal also," the court said, directing authorities to map the areas in Delhi which are the highest polluters after it was told by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) that Anand Vihar had the highest levels.
DPCC, represented by advocate Sanjeev Ralli, claimed the reason for high pollution levels at Anand Vihar was due to the presence of an interstate bus terminal and a railway station, apart from traffic conges tion. This view was echoed by amicus curiae and senior advocate Kailash Vasdev, who also suggested regulation of landfill sites, and cleaning up of road and construction debris as additional measures to improve air quality .
Taking note of the submission, the court as an "immediate short-term plan" directed Delhi traffic police to streamline the "chaotic" traffic movement in the area. Similar directions were issued to the Uttar Pradesh government to control the traffic situation in neighbouring areas of Anand Vihar. Meanwhile, DPCC was asked to give the average ambient air quality figures for Delhi, excluding Anand Vihar.
The high court also ordered East Corporation and Public Works Department to focus on Anand Vihar. The commissioners of the three municipal corporations in the city were asked to file their affidavits, indicating their action plan, before the next hearing on January 12, 2017.
