Air pollution situation in Delhi of an emergency nature: HC

Air pollution in the national capital is of an "emergency nature", the Delhi High Court today observed and said this situation would not have arisen if the authorities had implemented laws and rules in place to prevent environmental degradation.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva was of the view that while legislations were in place for ensuring maintenance of air quality levels, individuals and departments tasked to enforce the rules, "have not done their work".
It directed officers of all concerned authorities, including Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), that "all the rules have to be followed to the 't' as the situation today is of an emergency nature".

"This situation would not have arisen if all authorities had implemented the rules," the court said.
The court, referred to particulate matter-PM 2.5 and PM 10-and said as per the statutory norms their levels are not to exceed 60 microgram per cubic meter per day and 100 microgram per cubic meter per day, respectively. However, as per DPCC monitoring stations, their levels are always far in excess of 400/500.
It directed DPCC, represented by advocate Sanjeev Ralli, to "analyse data from 2011 onwards and to provide us a monthly average chart of each pollutant."

Another exercise the panel has been directed to carry out is to give a weekly chart of the pollutants during the months from October to February for all the years from 2011 to 2015.

DPCC has also been asked to provide the court with details of action taken by it, against any violations, in the last five years.
Meanwhile, on the issue of traffic management to reduce the timings of idling vehicles, the court observed that despite its direction for zero tolerance towards violation of rules, especially by people who jump onto other carriageways to get ahead during traffic snarls, police was doing nothing.
"People in Delhi need to be disciplined. Send anyone who changes carriageways to turnaround and go in the opposite direction from which they came, as they do in Mumbai," the bench said while hearing a PIL initiated by it on the issue of increasing air pollution in Delhi.

Police told the court that during the period from
December 1 to December 15, at the 14 designated places, 5291 motorists were prosecuted for traffic violations.
In these areas, special drives were initiated against improperly parked cars, traffic was regulated during peak and off-peak hours and several other measures were also taken for smooth vehicular flow.
Police also told the court that in 2015, a total of 48943 motorists were prosecuted for improper lane changing, 200267 for wrong carriageway driving and 69804 for plying without pollution under control certificates.
On the issue of creating awareness against burning of leaves, plastic, rubber and other waste, the court noted that the Delhi government has not taken any steps in that direction.

Ralli, who also appeared for Delhi government, informed the court that the administration has put out some advertisements, but the bench said it has not seen any and asked him to give details of the media campaigns on the next date of hearing on January 14, 2016.
On the rising levels of landfill sites in the national capital which handle 8500 metric tonnes of waste generated by the city each day, the court said if the solid waste management rules were not implemented Delhi would soon get its own "himalayan range" from these dumping areas.
It said, as per rules, the sites are to be closed after 15 years, but dumping areas like the one in Ghazipur have been functioning since 1985.

During the proceedings, the court noted it had earlier given several directions with regard to dealing with air pollution, but none of the agencies concerned had filed affidavits showing they complied with the orders.
It told the Central government's standing counsel Vinay Goel to file an affidavit "stating what are the requirements as per the regional and sub-regional plans of the National Capital Region Board to contain air pollution and for avoiding environmental degradation".
"The affidavit is to indicate the extent to which the measures, as per the regional and sub-regional plans, have been worked out and put in place," the court said.

Goel told the bench that the Centre has asked for action plans from all the states after the court's direction at the last hearing when it had observed that the current air pollution levels in Delhi had reached "alarming" proportions and it was akin to "living in a gas chamber".