17 November,2017 09:06 AM IST | New Delhi | Agencies
Directs Delhi government to submit data of ambient air quality in the national capital, based on which it will decide
The National Green Tribunal yesterday directed the Delhi government to submit data of ambient air quality in the national capital and said it would consider its ban on construction and industrial activity in the National Capital Region (NCR) on that basis. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that it would take up the matter today and till then its order would be in force.
Anti-pollution masks on the statues of Gandhiji and his followers at Gyarah Murti which were put by the rebel AAP MLA Kapil Misra and BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa in a protest against smog and air-pollution, in New Delhi. Pic/PTI
During the brief hearing, the AAP government told the bench that water was sprinkled at ITO area according to its direction and PM 2.5 levels had come down as detected by the monitoring centre of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Some of the lawyers, appearing for builders and industries, requested the tribunal to lift its ban on the ground that air quality in the NCR had improved.The bench refused to pass any order, saying there was no urgency and no builder would be starting construction activity tonight.
HC criticises
The Delhi High Court yesterday termed as "woefully inadequate" the efforts made by the Centre as well as the authorities in the national capital to mitigate the poor air quality here.
"Steps taken are woefully inadequate," the bench observed. The observation by a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sanjeev Sachdeva came as none of the authorities, including the city municipal bodies, were able to show they had complied with the court's urgent directions of last week to bring down the air pollution.
Ban on trucks to be lifted
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Thursday directed Delhi government to remove the ban on entry of trucks, construction works in Delhi and also to withdraw four-time hike in parking fees, as air quality has improved.
351 Units of average PM2.5, or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm, in Delhi yesterday
