National Green Tribunal calls for immediate remedial action in cities with AQI above 200

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Chief Secretaries of all states where the air quality index (AQI) in cities has dipped to severe, very poor and poor, to take remedial action. [In re: Air Quality Index in various Cities].In an order dated November 3, a coram of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel passed the order in a suo motu proceeding initiated based on air quality bulletins of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in respect of AQI for different cities from October 20 to November 1."A serious condition is reflected in various cities in Air Quality Bulletins. Hence, immediate action is required for prevention and control of the air pollution in these cities so as to ensure better air quality to the residents," the order stated..An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-450 severe.The Tribunal noted that on November 1, the air quality had deteriorated to a "severe" level in Hanumangarh, Fatehabad and Hisar.In the cases of Bahadurgarh, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Kaithal, Noida, Rohtak, Sri Ganganagar and Delhi, the air quality was classified as "very poor."For Amritsar, Ankleshwar, Baddi, Balllabgarh, Bathinda, Bharatpur, Bhiwadi, Bhopal, Bikaner, Bulandshahr, Bundi, Byrnihat, Churu, Dausa, Dhanbad, Dharuhera, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Gwalior, Jhansi, Jhunjhunu, Karnal, Khurja, Kota, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Manesar, Narnaul, Navi Mumbai, Panipat, Patna, Purnia, Rajgir, Sirsa, Sonipat, Thane, Tonk and Vapi, the air quality had dropped to a "poor" level..Accordingly, it issued notice to the Chief Secretaries of the concerned states; the Chairman of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM); the Member Secretary, CPCB; and the National Task Force and its head, who is a Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)..The Chief Secretaries of of such states are required to take immediate remedial action and submit action taken reports before the Tribunal on or before November 10, the next date of hearing..[Read Order]