NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, agreed to urgently list on November 18, a plea seeking enforcement of measures to check pollution in the national capital after it was told that Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world.
A two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih, agreed to list the matter after senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who has been appointed as amicus curiae, requested for urgent hearing.
“Since yesterday, we have been in severe mode (category). Just to avoid this situation, this court has asked them (CAQM and others) to take preemptive action. They have not done anything. We should not become the most polluted city in the world,” Singh told the bench.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by environmentalist M C Mehta in 1985 seeking directions to curb air pollution in Delhi and its adjoining areas.
Keeping in view the severity of the pollution level in Delhi and NCR, the apex court agreed to take up the matter on an urgent basis on Monday.
During the hearing, the amicus further informed the bench that she has intimated the Commission of Air Quality Management and they should explain what steps are being taken.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s Air Quality Index at 9 am on Thursday was 428, which falls in the ‘severe’ category.
“Of 39 monitoring stations in Delhi, 32 recorded air quality in the ‘severe’ category, with readings above 400. These stations include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, IGI Airport, ITO, Mandir Marg, North Campus, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, and Pusa among others,” the CPCB said.