A special bench, led by CJI NV Ramana, acting on a PIL, has been asking the government what it has done so far to arrest the crippling pollution levels, and has suggested extreme steps such as a complete shutdown till things improve.
The central government has resisted this on the grounds that the economy has just opened up after a long lockdown and that it would consider a complete shutdown only as a last resort.
The government has stuck to its graded response plan which mandates shutting down construction work, schools and colleges, industry, and limiting vehicular traffic etc to deal with the annual smog.
But this plan has had limited success in curtailing the air pollution levels.
The bench has time and again asked the government to give up its straight-jacketed ways and means to deal with the problem and asked it to come up with scientific solutions. The bureaucracy must be creative and think out of the box, the court has said.
“You are doing everything but nothing is happening on the ground,” the CJI has said. “This is an emergency situation and you must act in a creative way,” the CJI said again on Thursday.
The bench has earlier spoken of the need to undertake scientific studies to work out a long-term solution while urgent steps were taken to ease the situation in the interim.
The government insists that it is going by the book. It has banned all construction except essential activities, such as metro, railways and airports, and asked industries to shift to environment friendly alternative fuel.
The government is also actively pushing work from home and car-pooling to curb vehicular traffic, a major contributor to air pollution.
Studies have identified industry, vehicular pollution and dust as major contributors. The contribution of stubble burning is less in most months but climbs to nearly 30% in the post-harvest months.
Delhi Schools Closed; Boards, Online Classes to ContinueThe Delhi government on Thursday announced the closure of all schools in the national capital till further orders because of an increase in the air pollution levels.
However, board exams will continue as scheduled and teaching-learning activities will be conducted online, it said.
The decision came hours after the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government for resuming physical classes in schools despite an increase in the air pollution levels in the city.
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