Air pollution in most parts of North India including Delhi will now be monitored by the over 20-member Air Quality Management Commission. It will also have members from Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. The commission's job is to work on measures to mitigate it with continuous monitoring of air quality.
Only Parliament will have the right to change the rules made by the Commission. Not only this, the orders of the Commission can be challenged only in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the constitution of this commission is an important step. The Commission has full power to take various steps to tackle pollution. This will help reduce pollution in the surrounding areas including the capital.
Actually, this step has been taken to deal with the problem of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. However, the central government has been working on a war footing for the last three years. Despite this, the problem of air pollution is raising its head day by day. To deal with this, the Ministry of Environment set up a commission that will work strictly on air pollution.
On October 16, the Supreme Court had expressed concern over the rising air pollution order and constituted a one-member committee headed by retired judge Madan B. Lokur. The committee had to monitor the steps taken by the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh to prevent stubble burning apart from carrying out all the drills regarding air pollution.
The Supreme Court had asked the Chief Secretaries of Delhi and the remaining three states as well as the Environmental Pollution (Protection and Control) Authority (EPCA) to assist Justice Lokur.
The annual report will be submitted to parliament, the complaint in court
The commission will submit its annual report to Parliament. In the event of a conflict in the instructions issued by the state agency and the Commission, the Commission's order will be valid. The commission will complain against the polluters and the complaint will be in court. Action will be taken on the basis of this complaint. No other body or authority shall pass the order except by order of the Commission.
The full-time secretary will also be made
To maintain coordination with the Commission, there will be a full-time Secretary, who will also be the Chief Coordinating Officer of the Commission. Apart from these, the Commission can appoint one representative each as Assistant Member from the Ministries of Road and Transport, Power, Housing and Urban Affairs, Petroleum, Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry.
There will also be three sub-committees
The commission will also have three sub-committees, which will be related to surveillance and identification, security and enforcement, and research and development. The Commission has been empowered to take action against those who violate the directives set by it to end the pollution crisis.