NEW DELHI: Lashing out at the Centre and all states and Union Territories for their failure to do anything to improve air quality, drinking water and garbage disposal, the Supreme Court on Monday said their inaction is leading to a reduction in the lifespan of the country’s citizens gradually.
Asking the respective authorities to take concrete decisions within 10 days on having smog towers in Delhi-NCR to combat pollution, a bench by Justice Arun Mishra said, “You are reducing the lifespan of people. Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? Better to get explosives and kill them all at one go.”
Dismissing the explanation given by the Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and the state, the bench said, “This is politically managed pollution. Everything is happening under the nose of this court and we should tolerate all of these.”
“Delhi has become worse than narak (hell). Life is not so cheap in India and you will have to pay. How much do you value a person’s life?” the court asked the Delhi government.
The bench was referring to increasing instances of stubble burning in neighbouring states, a major contributor to air pollution in the NCR, as well as a Bureau of India Standards report claiming that water samples collected from 11 places across Delhi failed quality tests on 19 parameters and has asked the Centre and the AAP government to provide relevant details in this regard.
Expressing anguish at the Punjab government for not taking appropriate action, the bench said, “Because you (Punjab) are not able to implement measures, does not mean people in NCR should die and suffer from cancer.” The Uttar Pradesh government was also pulled up.
The bench told the Chief Secretary, “Stubble burning has increased, why should we not penalize you and your machinery? We are not going to spare you now.”
Haryana chief secretary told the bench that they had worked day and night to stop burning stubble. But the court noted that instances of stubble burning have increased.