Delay in installing smog tower in Delhi irks SC

The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre to execute within a week the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for installation of ''smog tower'' at Anand Vihar in east Delhi, which would help in combating the menace of air pollution. Smog towers are structures designed as large-scale air purifiers to reduce air pollution.

New Delhi: A visibly annoyed Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up Delhi government for not complying with its order of installing smog towers at Connaught Place and Anand Vihar within three months.

"We are literally shocked at the attitude of the respondents with respect to installation of smog towers," the bench said in connection with the orders passed in January this year

The bench led by Justice Arun Mishra observed that "it is so painful to note that the real intention is not to comply with the order of this court and there is absolutely no respect shown to the order passed by this court and for compliance of the order passed by this court by the concerned respondents".

It asked the MoEF and NCT Delhi to enter into an agreement with seven days else the concerned secretaries of both parties will be called for personal appearance in the top court.

In this matter, the other state governments were also asked to submit affidavits regarding the steps taken by them to curb pollution. According to the order, affidavits of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi will be heard on July 29.

Amicus Curiae, advocate Aparajita Singh informed the court that the states have not done anything concrete and the central government needs to have a meeting with all the stakeholders including Haryana and Punjab to formulate an action plan.

The court directed meeting of high-level officers and secretaries of MoEF, Agriculture ministry with the chief secretaries of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana and submit the plan chalked out by July 29, when it will be heard again.

For the problem of piling of garbage by the sides of railway tracks in Delhi, the court ordered the Railway department and the municipal corporations to submit an action plan (as ordered earlier but no compliance) in the next hearing else action will be taken against the concerned individuals. This matter will be listed in the first week of August.

Calling out Chattrapti Shivaji Shubhratri Hospital, Meerut, Paras Hospital, Ghaziabad and Lyf Hospital, Ghaziabad, for not adopting bar code system as per the EPCA report, the court directed that let CPCB, DPCB, NCR, including the representatives of corporation be called within three days and take steps to clear the biomedical waste of various hospitals and that of corona patients.

The SC bench observed that dumping biomedical waste in forests is an "objectionable act" and not segregating it is very dangerous especially during covid pandemic.

"As the biomedical waste of the corona patients is mixed with that of general patients and thrown in open, the same is going to create havoc and its requisite treatment by incinerators and disposal is required," read the order.

Issuing notice to the hospitals, the court asked them to not dump biomedical waste in the open and properly segregate it.

"Let the concrete action plan be prepared in this regard with respect to biomedical waste and be submitted to this court before the next date of hearing," read the order.