Supreme Court Agrees to Immediate Listing of Petition to Curb Delhi Pollution; Hearing Set for November 18

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to immediately list the petition requesting the implementation of measures to curb pollution in Delhi for November 18. In the petition, the court was requested to list it immediately so that Delhi does not become the most polluted city in the world. After this, the court agreed to hear the petition related to pollution in Delhi on November 18.

Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who has been appointed amicus curiae, had requested an immediate hearing from the bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih because of the current situation in Delhi. Singh told the bench, 'We are in a serious situation since yesterday. To avoid these conditions, this court has asked them to take precautionary measures. They did nothing. Delhi should not become the most polluted city in the world.' The amicus curiae told the bench that he has informed the Commission for Air Quality Management i.e. CQAM about this and they should tell what steps are being taken.

The bench said that it will hear the matter on November 18. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's air AQI was 428 at 9 am, which falls in the 'severe' category. An official said, 'Out of 39 monitoring stations in Delhi, 32 AQI levels crossed 400, due to which it was recorded in the 'severe category'. These stations include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, IGI Airport, ITO, Mandir Marg, North Campus, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh and Pusa.' Delhi recorded the worst AQI in the country on Wednesday, which has reached the 'severe' category for the first time this season.

The 24-hour AQI in Delhi till Wednesday evening was 418 and a day earlier it was 334. AQI is recorded every day at 4 pm. It is considered 'good' between 0-50, 'satisfactory' between 51-100, 'moderate' between 101-200, 'bad' between 201-300, 'very bad' between 301-400 and 'severe' between 401-500. The Supreme Court had said on November 11 that no religion promotes pollution-causing activities.

The court had said that the right to live in a clean and pollution-free environment is a fundamental right of every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by MC Mehta, in which an appeal has been made to issue guidelines to curb air pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas.