On Friday, the Supreme Court called on the Center to ensure that smog in the national capital is cleared as soon as possible, as it postponed two petitions seeking urgent action on air pollution in Delhi to November 16.
A bench of three judges headed by CJI SA Bobde said: “We are going to postpone the matter after the reopening (after the Diwali bye week). The only thing is, until then, you (Center) make sure that there is no smog in the city. ”The observation came as the court was listening to the PILs presented by Aditya Dubey and a previous pending matter about the pollution of Delhi in the MC Mehta case.
Attorney General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the Air Quality Management Commission has been constituted, members have been appointed and will start operating as of today on a war footing.
Lead counsel Vikas Singh informed the court that Delhi is facing a “public health emergency” and that the situation will only get worse in the coming days when the court is closed. He called for urgent action, but the court responded: “We are a court of law. We are not abdicating our responsibility. This is a problem for the executive to address. They have the money, the power, the experience and the resources to deal with the problem. “
Singh pointed out that the new commission set up by the Center did not have representation from the health ministry, which is crucial to addressing health problems associated with air pollution.
The court noted that the courts had limitations but that it was the Center who had to act. “There are many committees and commissions working. We have functional limitations. “
Singh said that by the time the court reopens, the health emergency could overcome. The bank commented: “We hope the Attorney General understands this. We do not want to advise you as they (the commission) are experts. “
The commission was constituted by an Ordinance issued on October 28 after the court overseeing air pollution issues sought urgent action. In early October, the court had formed a one-man committee headed by former SC judge Madan B Lokur to carry out a physical surveillance of stubble burning in the farmlands of Punjab, Haryana and UP. The court allowed the Lokur committee to inspect the situation on the ground and ordered all chief secretaries from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP to cooperate with it.
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