Way back in 2000, when severe pollution plagued the national capital—thanks to a huge fleet of public transport running on diesel—the Supreme Court took upon the mantle to save people’s health. Jump to 2015, when vehicles in the city have nearly tripled, it is again the apex court that has come to the rescue of Delhi which has also been labelled as the world’s most polluted city.
This time leading the green war is National Green Tribunal (NGT) and its chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar along with the Supreme Court. From levying green cess on trucks entering Delhi to banning registration of new diesel vehicles, Justice Kumar took on the task to clean Delhi’s air. In a series of orders spread throughout 2015, he pulled up the Central government, Delhi government, Delhi Police, municipal corporations and all other stake holders for shying away from strict measures to curb pollution in the city. NGT banned the plying of diesel vehicles, which were more than 10 years old.
In December, Justice Kumar issued the order to stop the registration of new diesel vehicles till January 6. A bench headed by the NGT chairperson ordered that no heavy commercial vehicles that are not destined for Delhi will be allowed to ply through the city and other heavy vehicles will have to pay environment tax for polluting Delhi’s air.
