Formulate plan to curb pollution: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the central government to formulate a plan to curb pollution in other cities apart from the national capital.

The central government told the court that it has been working on a comprehensive action plan to deal with air pollution across the country and will finalise it soon.

A Division Bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta wondered why the National Capital Region, including Delhi, was receiving special treatment when air pollution in Patna in Bihar and Raipur in Chhattisgarh was even worse.

"Newspaper reports say one of the cities, Raipur, is more polluted than Delhi. Patna is also there. Why should special treatment be given to Delhi? What do you propose to do for the rest of the country," the bench asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF).

The central government referred to a comprehensive action plan aimed at meeting the ambient air quality in the NCR that includes Delhi and areas of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

It said the Central Pollution Control Board will issue directions to the authorities concerned on Thursday to take steps as per the timeline laid out in the action plan.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by environmentalist M.C. Mehta.

--IANS

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