The Supreme Court today appointed retired judge Justice Madan B Lokur to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh amid rising pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas. "We are only concerned about the citizens of Delhi NCR being able to breathe in fresh clean air," the top court said. The Supreme Court also declined to accept the centre's request to reconsider the appointment of the one-man committee of Justice (retd) Lokur.
The national capital has seen a spike in air pollution after stubble burning incidents from these three states that border Delhi; the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 concentration was 6 per cent on Thursday, according to a central government agency.
The bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde directed the court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and chief secretaries of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to assist the Lokur panel to enable it in physical surveillance of fields where stubble is burnt.
"The concerned state governments will provide secretarial, security and financial facilities to this committee. The National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme and Bharat Scouts will also be deployed for assisting the panel. The committee will submit its report to the Supreme Court in 15 days," the court, which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said.
The next hearing on the case has been scheduled on October 26.
The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 concentration was six per cent on Thursday, according to a central government agency.
It was only around one per cent on Wednesday and around 3 per cent on Tuesday, Monday and Sunday, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR.
PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter which can penetrate deep into the lungs, impairing their function, and even the bloodstream.
During his tenure as Supreme Court judge, Justice Lokur had dealt with pollution matter which included the aspect of stubble burning. The bench was hearing a plea filed by one Aditya Dubey who has raised concern over pollution caused due to stubble burning.
