New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not allow the scaling down of the preventive measures against pollution in Delhi without its prior permission.
The apex court questioned the Delhi government over the delay in the implementation of stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan. "How can you take risk in these matters by delaying the applicability of stage 4 of GRAP," a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked.
The bench said the delay occurred even after the air quality index (AQI) touched alarming levels in the national capital.
The Delhi government counsel informed that bench that from Monday onwards, stage 4 of GRAP had been implemented. The counsel said that heavy vehicles have been banned from entering the national capital. “The moment the AQI reaches between 300 and 400, stage 4 has to be invoked. How can you take risk in these matters by delaying applicability of stage 4 of GRAP,” the bench told the counsel.
The bench asked the counsel to apprise it of steps taken to curb air pollution levels. "We won’t allow scaling down of preventive measures under stage 4 even if AQI goes below 450. Stage 4 will continue till court permits," the bench said.
The apex court will continue to hear the air pollution issue in detail at the end of the day’s work. On Sunday, the CAQM announced stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under GRAP-4, effective from 8 am on Monday, including a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued the order as Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) worsened, reaching 441 at 4 pm and rising to 457 by 7 pm due to unfavourable weather conditions.
Last week, the apex court had agreed to hear on November 18, a plea for enforcement of measures to check pollution in the capital, after it was informed that Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world.
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