The Supreme Court on Monday expressed reservations over whether stubble burning by farmers could be the sole reason for the ongoing Delhi air pollution crisis..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi proceeded to seek a report on measures taken to contain other pollutants.The issued the direction while hearing the long-pending MC Mehta case, which deals with a host of environmental issues including the air pollution crisis in the national capital. Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati today told the Court that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in Delhi and adjoining areas has prepared action plans to tackle pollution in these places. She added that stubble burning, vehicular pollution, construction dust, road dust, and biomass burning have been named as contributors to pollution. .At this juncture, CJI Kant observed that it is easy to blame farmers who engage in stubble burning when they are not represented before the Court or in a position to defend themselves. "We don't want to comment on stubble burning as it's easy to pass off burden on those who are hardly represented before us," he said. He also pointed out that stubble burning had taken place earlier also, but had not resulted the drastic dip in air quality that Delhi has been witnessing as of late."During COVID, stubble burning happened as usual, but we could still see blue skies and stars. Why? Something to be thought about and other factors," the CJI said. He proceeded to seek a report on what measures were being taken to tackle other factors that could be causing air pollution. The Court directed that this report be submitted in a week's time."We would like to have a report within a week on the measures taken to contain other factors," he said. .The Court reiterated that it would monitor this case regularly as part of its efforts to tackle the pollution crisis. "We want to see long term and short term plan and we will keep taking the case up. None of the cities of the country were developed to accommodate this scale of population or with the thought that each home will have multiple cars. Let us see which measures are suggested to us and how these measures are implemented or are in paper only," CJI Kant said. .During COVID, stubble burning happened as usual, but we could still see blue skies and stars. Why?Supreme Court .The Supreme Court had earlier allowed burning of green crackers during Diwali in the national capital and its surrounding districts. However, with the rising pollution levels, medical experts have urged people to leave Delhi for a few weeks.Earlier this month, the Court called for a status report from the CAQM after it was informed that most of the air quality monitoring stations remained shut during Diwali in Delhi.The Court had also sought reports from Punjab and Haryana on measures taken to curb stubble burning by farmers, one of the factors which worsens air quality in the north Indian plains. On November 17, the Court asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit detailing the nature and efficiency of equipment measuring the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital.During the last hearing of the matter, the Court noted that it does not have a magic wand to solve the air pollution crisis but would have to rely on experts for proper solutions. .[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
