New Delhi: The Supreme Court will today be hearing the issue of increasing pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. The matter will be heard by a bench comprising three judges; Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant.
In an earlier hearing held on November 24, the apex court had taken a strict stand regarding the issue, and had asked the Centre as well as state governments concerned to come up with a concrete plan in order to solve the problem. It had also emphasised on creating a scientific model based on data to deal with pollution.
During the hearing, the court had expressed dissatisfaction over the efforts deployed at the time to address the issue, adding the measures taken up by the government were all ad-hoc.
Also read: Delhi's air quality continues to remain in 'very poor' category with overall AQI of 372
The SC further said that reiterating the need for a scientific model that will ensure such a situation does not arise in future.
The top court said that the states have funds worth thousands of crores in their coffers, which can be used to pay the construction workers for a few days until the ban on construction work is lifted. It also pointed out that no specific steps have been taken to counter pollution, and that the hearings would continue until normalcy returns.
The top court further posed a question towards the Punjab government, referring to the latter's statement that it had put out the burning stubble in farmers' fields by sprinkling water, asking who would it be to help the farmers as they get only 15 to 20 days to prepare the fields in order to sow wheat.
Holding the Haryana government to its task on the work-from-home orders in four NCR districts, the court asked if the state administration could provide evidence that no cars were on the streets in these districts, alleging that the government had given its people freedom to work as they pleased.
The SC noted that issuing any such order did not mean that the court would cease to take the matter seriously, reminding the Centre and the states that it expected them to take concrete decisions regarding the matter.
Also read: Stubble burning in Punjab not responsible for Delhi pollution says study
Targeting the Delhi government, the Supreme Court asked how many machines it had purchased for road cleaning, and that even if 15 machines had already been bought, whether it would be enough to clean 1,000 km of roads.
