Air pollution by stubble burning: NGT seeks reports from Delhi, Punjab governments

New Delhi: Taking a suo motu cognisance of rising air pollution in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal has sought ‘action taken’ reports from the Delhi and Punjab governments on steps they took to control air pollution.

The tribunal issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary, the member secretary of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the Delhi municipal commissioner. It also sent notices to the Punjab chief secretary and the member secretary of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, seeking information about steps taken to control the burning of crop residue.

The green bench, headed by chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, also issued notices to the Central Pollution Control Committee’s member secretary and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in this regard. NGT has sought details of actions taken in accordance with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to maintain the air quality in an acceptable range to safeguard public health in view of the winter season ahead.

The NGT underlined that to achieve the targets to reduce paddy stubble burning, effective on-ground action is required by authorities.

The tribunal noted various news reports about violations in waste burning and construction activities causing dust pollution.

The air quality of the Delhi-National Capital Region has worsened in the past few days. As per the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, it may reach the “very poor” category in the next 3 to 4 days. Delhi’s AQI is close to the “very poor” category of 301-400.

The Centre’s air quality panel also directed authorities in the NCR to increase parking fees to discourage private transport and enhance the services of CNG or electric buses.