The Supreme Court on Friday sarcastically quipped, “hope you all are enjoying weather” while opening a suo motu hearing to examine Delhi’s air pollution regulatory framework, with a bench headed by CJI Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana identifying vehicular emissions as a major driver of the severely polluted air across the national capital and NCR regions like Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurugram, and Faridabad due to bumper-to-bumper traffic. Highlighting that the AQI was already touching 400, the CJI stressed the urgent need for immediate, medium, and long-term measures, while amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh drew attention to the severe air quality, noting that breathing it is equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes a day and that stubble burning accounts for about 14 percent of Delhi’s pollution even as city-level sources like waste burning continue to worsen the crisis. Addressing stubble burning, the bench suggested advance procurement pricing for crop residue and proper management systems through gram panchayats to educate farmers on machine usage over burning as they prepare for the next sowing season, though the judges questioned whether crop residue burning alone should be blamed when elite-class private vehicles and high-end cars driven by well-off sections are adding significantly to local urban emissions.
Supreme Court Demands Action on Vehicle Pollution as Delhi’s AQI Crosses 400
