The Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (NGT) has requested the Delhi Police chief and the particular commissioner of site visitors administration to reply in regards to the steps taken to scale back air air pollution from automobiles and parking issues.
It additionally stated {that a} clear course of needs to be adopted to use totally different phases of the anti-pollution Graded Response Motion Plan (GRAP).
The tribunal was wanting into the issue of poor air high quality within the Nationwide Capital Area (NCR), necessitating the activation of various phases of GRAP.
The NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, in an order on October 24, stated, “Now, the winter has began, and we discover that the Air High quality Index (AQI) on October 23 in Delhi was 364 within the very poor class, which displays that there’s a lapse on the a part of the authorities in stopping the dip within the air high quality in NCR.”
The bench, consisting of judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and professional member A Senthil Vel, referenced a report from the Fee for Air High quality Administration (CAQM) dated October 23.
The report stated that the GRAP schedule was “comprehensively reviewed” and that Stage I of GRAP was activated when the common AQI within the nationwide capital remained above 200 for a “sufficiently lengthy period.”
Expressing its dissatisfaction, the tribunal remarked, “It isn’t disclosed as to the common variety of days taken to invoke Stage I, neither is it specified what period is taken into account to be sufficiently lengthy.”
“We consider that goal standards have to be utilized, and a clear course of needs to be adopted for invoking the totally different phases of GRAP,” it added.
The NGT noticed that vehicular air pollution was one of many main contributors to air air pollution and that the accountability for controlling site visitors, addressing parking points, and imposing the ban on unauthorised and outdated automobiles lies with the police.
The tribunal subsequently added the police commissioner and the particular commissioner of site visitors administration as events or respondents.
“Let notices be issued to the newly added respondents to file their responses by the use of affidavit, disclosing the steps taken on the floor stage to mitigate the contributing air air pollution components associated to vehicular actions and parking,” the tribunal stated.
It directed that the sector employees and groups deployed by the Delhi authorities and the Municipal Company of Delhi (MCD) to verify violations needs to be strengthened and monitored by competent officers to make sure their efficient operation on the floor stage.
The tribunal instructed the Central Air pollution Management Board (CPCB), Delhi authorities, and the Municipal Company of Delhi (MCD) to broadly publicise their cellular functions for checking air pollution.
“The Union Ministry of Setting, Forest and Local weather Change (MoEF&CC) has additionally filed a reply affidavit disclosing the prevailing ambient air high quality monitoring stations within the NCR and the proposed stations. So far as Delhi is anxious, there isn’t any proposed ambient air high quality monitoring station,” it stated
The tribunal directed the CAQM to disclose the steps taken from January to September 2024 to make sure that air high quality doesn’t deteriorate within the winter months.
The matter has been scheduled for additional proceedings on November 5.
With PTI inputs
