NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said judges do not have a magic wand to solve Delhi’s worsening air pollution, even as the city’s air quality slipped sharply just a day after the rollback of Stage-III restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
There were multiple causes for the deteriorating air quality in Delhi, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed. Delhi’s AQI measured 377 on Thursday, while several localities dived into the “severe” category, going beyond the 400-mark.
The bench made the remarks after advocate Aparajita Singh, amicus curiae in the air pollution case, flagged an “alarming situation” in Delhi-NCR, calling it a “health emergency.”
“What magic wand can a judicial forum exercise? I know this is hazardous for Delhi- NCR... Tell me what we can direct... that we can give directions, and there will be clean air immediately. We all know there is a problem. We need to identify all the reasons. There is no one single reason. It could be a bona fide mistake to think that. Only domain experts and scientists can look into that. Then we have to see what solutions are possible in each region,” the CJI said.
He added that matters related to pollution are listed before the SC in “a rather ceremonial manner” every year during the Diwali season and that the issue needs regular monitoring. The bench agreed to list the case on December 1.
On Wednesday, the CJI said Delhi’s air pollution had made walking outdoors difficult and said he would consider shifting hearings to a virtual mode after consulting the Bar.