Delhi Air Quality: Supreme Court Concerned, Emergency Measures Remain
New Delhi, India – Stalling measures meant to tackle Delhi’s unrelenting air pollution remain in effect as the Supreme Court expressed its dissatisfaction with the implementation of emergency protocols.
Despite slight improvements in air quality over the last two days, the court extended the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage 4 restrictions for the national capital and surrounding areas until a "downward trend" in air quality readings is observed.
"There is hardly any implementation of stage 4 of GRAP to deal with air pollution in the national capital,” the court remarked, questioning the Delhi government about the number of officials deployed to enforce the restrictions.
The court highlighted a "complete lack of coordination" among the municipality, police, pollution control board, and other entities involved.
The judges in the case, Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, criticized the lack of effective action on bans on truck entry and construction activities, core components of the GRAP-4 measures.
The Supreme Court has called for a hearing on December 5 to further assess the applicability and possible modifications to GRAP-4 directives.
Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan have been summoned to appear virtually at the December 5 hearing to explain their states’ failure to compensate construction workers as per the court’s prior instructions.
The Delhi government has concurrently been tasked with investigating potential lapses in enforcing the GRAP restrictions, further demonstrating the court’s commitment to scrutinizing the response to the air quality crisis.
This reprimand comes as Delhi experienced a second consecutive day of marginally improved air quality, shifting from "very poor" to "poor" status. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported a morning Air Quality Index (AQI) of 273, compared to a 24-hour average AQI of 285 on Sunday.
This slight respite follows a grueling 32 consecutive days of “very poor” or “severe” air quality, with AQI levels consistently exceeding 400, causing widespread health concerns and prompting emergency measures.
