The National Center for Disease Control said Delhi can see up to 15,000 Covid cases a day in winter.
The one-man committee to oversee steps to tackle stubble burning was suspended today by the Supreme Court as the Center said it would create a permanent body through legislation to address the annual air pollution problem in Delhi and its areas. surrounding. The ministry said the new committee will be in charge of addressing not only stubble burning but also general pollution in the National Capital Region.
On October 16, the Supreme Court appointed retired Judge Madan B Lokur to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, a key source of pollution each winter. At the time, the court had refused to accept the Center’s request to reconsider the appointment.
Today, Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the government, told the court that the new legislation will be presented in three to four days and asked the court to suspend the Lokur Committee.
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde called it a welcome step, saying: “This is something the government should have acted on.”
“This is not a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) issue … The only problem is that people are suffocating due to pollution and it is something that must be repressed,” added Chief Justice Bobde.
“This is being done to establish a permanent body not only for stubble burning, but also for pollution in Delhi and the NCR region,” said top sources from the Environment Ministry. This, the sources said, will replace the EPCA – Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Authority – led by Bhure Lal.
This year’s contamination is a topic of greater concern, and experts say it could lead to an increase in coronavirus cases. A report from the National Center for Disease Control earlier this month claimed that Delhi can see up to 15,000 Covid cases a day in winter.
A study from Harvard University has shown that an increase of just one microgram per cubic meter in PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 is associated with an 8% increase in the death rate from Covid-19.
For the past two days, the daily peak has been over 4,000 in Delhi.
Previously, the Center had opposed the formation of the Lokur Committee, saying that all states had already been heard.
The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar also said that burning stubble contributes only four percent to pollution in the Delhi-NCR area. The rest, he said, was caused by “local factors”, prompting a strong outcry over the contamination from Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“There has not been a massive jump in any local source of contamination in recent days to cause the spike,” Kejriwal said.
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