New Delhi: In response to the worsening air pollution in the Delhi NCR region, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state governments in Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to stop stubble-burning activities in light of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital and its adjoining regions.
The apex court has assigned local Station House Officers (SHOs) the responsibility of enforcing this decision, under the close supervision of the Director Generals of Police (DGPs) and the Chief Secretaries of these states.
The Supreme Court emphasised that the prevailing air quality crisis is responsible for endangering the well-being of the public, characterising it as “murder of people’s health.” The Supreme Court further noted that the smog towers installed as per the earlier order are not working and directed the government to ensure they are repaired.
The Supreme Court has observed that schemes like “odd-even” for vehicles aimed at tackling the pollution issue are merely optics. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the air pollution matter for Friday, November 10. In addition, the Apex Court ordered the Delhi government to make sure that the capital only has taxis registered in Delhi, since many cabs from other states are operating in the national capital area with just one passenger.
Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai chaired a meeting with Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and officers from the concerned departments at the Delhi Secretariat to formulate the plan for implementing the Odd-Even scheme in Delhi.
#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai chairs meeting with Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and officers from the concerned Departments at Delhi Secretariat to formulate the plan of implementing the Odd-Even scheme in Delhi. #Delhi #Gopalrai #OddEvenRule pic.twitter.com/ECWFVAdGyO
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) November 7, 2023