Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 18: As Delhi’s air quality plunged to the ‘severe-plus’ category, which was over 26 times the limit prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Supreme Court on Monday pulled up authorities over the delay in implementing tough restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to tackle the capital’s bad air quality.
The overall AQI of Delhi on Monday worsened to 493 at 3 p.m., according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. AQI is a measurement of air pollution on a scale of 0-500. A higher AQI means an increase in air pollution. At least nine of the 37 stations measuring air quality in Delhi maxed out at 500 by 3 p.m., the CPCB data showed. This indicates that Delhi’s actual air quality is worse than 493.
The overall level of PM2.5 (a chief pollutant) in Delhi was 401.1 micrograms per cubic meter at 2 p.m. on Monday, as per CPCB data — about 26.74 times the WHO’s permissible limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter for a 24-hour period. The Delhi authorities have directed all schools to return to online classes and tightened restrictions on construction activities and vehicle movements citing unfavourable meteorological conditions and low wind speed.
The Supreme Court told the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the national capital region and the Delhi government that restrictions under Stage 4 of GRAP — implemented after Air Quality Index crosses the 400 mark — must not be relaxed without its permission even if AQI drops below 300.
The bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice AG Masih asked the authorities why GRAP 3 was implemented three days after the AQI crossed the 300 mark. When the Centre’s counsel replied that they were tracking whether the AQI dips, the court said, “Once it reaches, it has to be invoked… how can the applicability of stage 3 be delayed anyhow… how can you wait for three days?”
A thick blanket of toxic smog had engulfed most parts of northern India, as a result of which, visibility dropped to 100 m in Delhi and Chandigarh. The smog, a toxic blend of smoke and fog, happens each year in winter as cold air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires in some surrounding states.
According to Swiss group IQAir’s live rankings, New Delhi was the most polluted city in the world with the air quality at a “hazardous” 1,081 and the concentration of PM2.5 – particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can be carried into lungs, causing deadly diseases and cardiac issues.
Farm fires – where stubble left after harvesting rice is burnt to clear fields – have contributed as much as 40% of the pollution in Delhi, SAFAR, a weather forecasting agency under the ministry of earth sciences has said. Satellites detected 1,334 such events in six states on Sunday, the most in the last four days, according to India’s Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space.
When the matter was taken up later in the day, Justice Oka asked again why the authorities waited for AQI to improve as per IMD predictions. “Instead of anticipating that AQI will cross (300 mark), the approach is that they will wait and see that AQI will go down. After 418, you waited for a day to bring in stage 3,” the bench told the Centre.
The court then asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit regarding implementation of curbs under the emergency response plan. In its order, the Supreme Court said the sub-committee of CAQM adopted a “wrong approach” in implementing GRAP 3 and GRAP 4 curbs. “The commission cannot wait for improvement in AQI. It should take steps in anticipation,” the bench said. It asked all states in the National Capital Region to enforce GRAP 4 restrictions and to set up committees to monitor their implementation and ensure strict compliance.
“We make it clear that till further orders of this court, implementation of stage 4 shall continue even if AQI falls below 450. All state and central governments to file compliance affidavit by Thursday,” the court said.
Though the Delhi government said it had stopped construction work in the capital, lawyers alerted the Bench to building work happening within the apex court complex itself. They said the AQI in the courtroom was 994. Justice Oka immediately summoned the Supreme Court Secretary General to read him the GRAP-IV restrictions.
In its order, the court noted that the AQI had crossed 400 on November 12, and instead of immediately directing the implementation of GRAP-III, the CAQM waited 24 hours, till November 14. The same thing had happened in the kicking in of GRAP-IV. “When AQI crossed 450 at 6 p.m. on November 13, CAQM directed its implementation from November 18,” Justice Oka pointed out.
The court found the approach of the CAQM “completely wrong.” “They (the CAQM) wrongly anticipated the AQI to come down. They should have anticipated it going up. This court’s direction on October 29, 2018 was to take pre-emptive steps, and not wait for improvement of AQI to implement restrictions. The approach of CAQM was completely wrong,” the apex court observed.
The court directed all State governments which have areas within the National Capital Region (NCR) to strictly implement GRAP-IV. These States have to immediately constitute monitoring committees to ensure the strict implementation of GRAP-IV.
The court ordered the CAQM to examine if any further stringent actions could be implemented under GRAP Stages -III and -IV to bring down the toxicity in the air. The court asked the CAQM to take an immediate call on GRAP-IV restrictions, including that offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) work at 50% capacity, with the rest working from home; work from home options for Central government employees; schools shifting to the online mode of teaching, etc.
Uttar Pradesh Additional Advocate General Garima Parshad claimed that the State had closed all schools and there was no construction work going on. “There are parents in this courtroom whose children went to school this morning… This claim would be alarming for them,” Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for a petitioner, intervened.
He said closure of schools and offices should not be left to the discretion of individual State governments. The CAQM’s directions should apply to all States equally. The court directed NCR States to consider stopping physical classes till Class 12. The Delhi government had allowed physical classes for Classes 10 and 12 to continue while other classes went into the online mode of teaching. Mr Sankaranarayanan said the lungs of students of all classes were equally vulnerable to pollution.
Meanwhile, the court’s amicus curiae, senior advocate Aparijita Singh, provided a “shocking” revelation that claims of a considerable dip in stubble burning may not be true. Ms Singh said the Indian Space Research Organisation, which was tasked by the court to detect crop burning, had banked on inputs from a passing National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite.
“The NASA satellite’s over-pass time was between 1.30 a.m. and 2.30 a.m. Now, the readings from a South Korean geo-stationary satellite shows increased instances of stubble burning after 2.30 am,” Ms Singh submitted. The Delhi government said the traffic police, armed with a list of what passed as ‘essential commodities’, were checking heavy trucks and commercial light motor vehicles entering the capital.
CAQM has a four-step Graded Action Response Plan to tackle Delhi’s bad air days. GRAP 1 is invoked when the AQI is in poor category. Under this category, water is periodically sprinkled on roads, open burning of waste is banned and use of diesel generations is restricted. Under GRAP 2, enforced when AQI crosses the 300 mark, water is sprinkled on roads daily, uninterrupted power supply is ensured so that use of generators can be avoided, parking charges are hiked to discourage private transport and service of CNG and electric buses and Metro are stepped up.
The next stage of curbs, GRAP 3, is enforced when AQI crossed 400. Polluting vehicles in Delhi and other cities in the National Capital Region are banned and governments may take a call on online classes for primary students. Mining, stone-crushing and construction/demolition activities are prohibited under GRAP 3.
GRAP 4, which is currently in force, kicks in when AQI crossed the 450 mark. Commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi are banned from entering the capital unless they are EVs, CNG or they conform to BS-VI norms. Decisions can also be taken on discontinuing physical classes for senior classes too.