Stubble emissions with a fire count of 2,994 contributed 34 per cent to PM2.5 in Delhi. (Express File Photo)The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will hear on November 10 a plea seeking its “urgent intervention” to check the worsening air quality in the national capital.
Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, who filed the petition, mentioned it before a bench presided by Chief Justice of India U U Lalit.
Pointing out that even healthy people were having breathing issues, Jha pointed out that the Air Quality Index (AQI) had crossed 500 in Delhi. He said that in the last two-three years, the AQI had not crossed 500 in Delhi.
“Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) is already here. Noida has already closed its schools. This requires urgent intervention of this court. AQI levels have reached a level where even those who are fit are not able to reside in Delhi anymore,” he submitted.
The bench then asked the counsel, “What do we do to arrest that?”
Jha pointed out that the situation is worsening due to parali (stubble) burning in Punjab.
CJI Lalit, however, said that “some of the experts on the point say it has nothing to do with that”.
“When I compared the AQI levels of the last one week, it showed rise due to high level of parali burning in Punjab,” Jha said, adding that fires had risen by 22 per cent in Punjab.
The counsel urged the court to seek answers from state officials. When the bench asked which bench normally hears such matters, Jha said the matter was urgent. “Currently, the situation is so worse that I had to file it urgently,” he said, pointing out that GRAP-4 has been implemented in Delhi-NCR.
The counsel said it involved the right to life of people at large, especially that of children and aged people, and urged the court to hear it on Friday or Saturday. The CJI, however, said the court will take it up on November 10.