The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised the Delhi government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for failing to enforce its firecracker rules during festivals.
Repeated violations had made its orders seem “academic” and amounted to a “mockery”, the top court reportedly said.
The top court was hearing the impact of firecrackers on Delhi-NCR ’s air quality. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale questioned the authorities over the lack of concrete data on enforcement and the impact of measures taken to curb pollution in the region. “What did you actually do? Unless you can tell us what you have done, what is the point of passing orders? It becomes a mockery then,” the bench asked Delhi government, as per news agency ANI. The top court reportedly asked whether enforcement teams had visited the identified areas, when they went and what data they collected. It also sought data comparing areas where the AQI rose with those where it did not. Despite permission for green crackers, banned firecrackers were allegedly used, while enforcement teams failed to provide clear data on violations. The Supreme Court has taken up Delhi’s air pollution issue through suo motu proceedings arising from a petition filed by advocate MC Mehta.
A separate petition filed in 2015 by three toddlers sought a complete ban on firecrackers, citing their harmful effects on children, older people and those with health conditions, HT reported earlier .
Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Singh Bhati, appearing for the Union government, told the bench that an enforcement mechanism was in place but had not been presented to the court. “Next year you will make a similar submission when we will not be there, to another bench,” the court observed, asking the authorities to “think now at a higher level”. The bench said that air pollution was not an adversarial issue but one that affected “every living being”. The court-appointed adviser said authorities had not properly assessed the impact of last year’s relaxation of firecracker rules. The bench said bursting firecrackers would inevitably worsen air pollution.
