NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today said the procurement price for crop stubble (parali) should be announced well in advance and the management system for it should be provided to gram panchayats, as it heard a petition on the air pollution crisis in the National Capital Region (NCR). A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana opened the proceedings with a remark from the Chief Justice about the city that has enforced tight anti-pollution measures: “I hope you all are enjoying the weather in Delhi.”
After hearing all the parties in the matter, Justice Kant said the more orders the Supreme Court passes, the more instances of non-compliance will occur. “It’s simply human nature.”
Responding to the bench, senior lawyer Aparajita Singh, who is helping the Supreme Court as the amicus curiae, said air pollution levels remain hovering around the “severe” category and were even affecting her voice. She said breathing the region’s air is equivalent to an individual “smoking 30 cigarettes every day”.
The Supreme Court also noted that pollution levels had previously dipped due to rainfall and expressed hope that farm fires had stopped as farmers prepare for the next sowing season.
To this, Singh said stubble-burning contributed 14 per cent to Delhi’s pollution levels. “Delhi is already highly polluted,” she said, adding that farm fires further exacerbate the situation, which needed urgent intervention to stop both stubble-burning and local-level pollution, including waste-burning.
The bench then asked about the role of urban emissions in creating a situation where air pollution is very high. It questioned whether stubble-burning was the only cause of the crisis or whether “the affluent class and their private vehicles” were also a major problem.
“Stubble, we keep on talking about… You have provided equipment. Maybe some may still be hesitant about it. What about elite class people? Vehicles, high-end cars all operate…” the Supreme Court said.
We are a multimedia news network. Website : www.7xnews.com Based in New Delhi (India)
Youtube : umakantlakheraspeaks@gmail.com
