Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 17: All the schools and colleges in Delhi and its surrounding areas have been closed indefinitely and online classes resumed, six of the 11 power plants have been shut down and attendance of the Delhi government employees will be modulated urging thousands of them to work-from-home and the essential employees requested to use public transport and shun private vehicles in a bid to tackle national capital’s life-threatening air quality crisis.
The orders were issued on Wednesday after a meeting of the Commission of the Air Quality Management (CAQM) under the union environment ministry even as the Supreme Court reprimanded the bureaucracy for the “inertia” it has developed in taking hash measures to tackle any problem.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would take a call on putting in place harsher measures to improve the air quality after November 21 when the weather bureau has indicated that the situation would improve naturally. The court also asked the Centre and the states involved to follow directions issued by the ‘The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.’
“The directions of the Commission have to be followed…They equally apply to states and centre …So far as completely shutting down or harsher measures, we will consider after November 21,” a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana, Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant said, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said meteorological experts who attended the emergency meeting of the CAQM on Tuesday had opined the situation would improve after November 21 due to wind flow. “Can’t we wait till November 21 before imposing harsher measures?” Mehta urged the court to which the bench agreed.
The court scheduled the next hearing on November 24.
But the court conveyed its unhappiness about the response of the bureaucracy in such situations. “In the entire country, what I have observed as a judge, and earlier as Advocate General, is that the bureaucracy has developed an inertia, an apathy… They wait for the court to pass an order even on things like how to stop a car or a fire by using a bucket or a mop… This is the attitude developed by the Executive. The meeting should have decided on the steps and said these are our directions to be implemented. We could have completed this hearing in two minutes… It is unfortunate the Executive has come to this… They just say ‘let the court pass the order and we will sign’,” Chief Justice Ramana observed orally.
The SG took the bench through an affidavit filed by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change regarding the directions issued by the Commission. He pointed out that the Commission had, among others, directed allowing operation of only gas-run industries in NCR, working of only five of the 11 thermal power plants in the 300-km radius of Delhi, and ban on entry of trucks till November 21, besides dust control measures.
The six power plants not allowed to operate shall remain closed at least till November 30, the Commission said, adding that the Secretary, Ministry of Power, had assured that any load shortfall would be met through supply of power from plants beyond 300 km.
Regarding vehicular pollution, the Commission directed that the truck entry ban can be extended if found necessary after November 21. It asked authorities to ensure that no petrol vehicle older than 15 years or diesel vehicles older than 10 years ply on NCR roads and to get an adequate number of CNG buses on the roads.
With a view to control dust pollution, the Commission directed that all construction and demolition activities be stopped in the categories like railway and metro rail services, airports and Inter State Bus Terminals and projects of national importance, national security and defence-related projects. It asked authorities to deploy anti-smog guns, water sprinklers, including fire tenders, and application of dust suppressants in all vulnerable hotspots three times daily, besides augmenting the number of mechanised road sweepers. The Commission also asked the NCR states and Delhi government to strictly enforce ban on diesel gensets, except for emergency services.
It directed NCR state governments to allow work from home for at least 50 per cent of their staff till November 21 and also encourage this for 50 per cent of private staff. All public and private schools, colleges and educational institutions in the NCR shall remain closed until further orders, allowing only online mode of education, it said.
Private offices were advised by the committee to allow at least 50 per cent of their employees to work-from-home until Sunday. While Delhi says all state government offices will follow 100 per cent work-from-home, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that it does not favour work-from-home since Covid restrictions had a big impact in the past two years. The Centre instead has asked all its employees in Delhi and its neighbourhood to use public transport as far as possible while going to offices.
The Supreme Court criticised the centre because Delhi’s neighbours had not been covered by the work-from-home directive and the focus was only on a temporary ban on trucks.
As the Delhi Government and Centre urged the Supreme Court to decide on work-from-home and any lockdown, the Chief Justice said: “Two hours of our time was wasted. We had already asked you to take a call after joint meetings.” Not passing any orders, the Supreme Court said last night’s decisions of the CAQM should be followed for now.
As a Centre-Delhi blame game erupted over varying data on farm fires, the Chief Justice said: “Debates on TV are causing more pollution than any other sources. Everyone has their own agenda there. We are trying to work out a solution here.” Farmers should not be punished but should be asked to stop stubble-burning for a week, the Supreme Court said.
Justice Surya Kant, who had earlier insisted that farmers need incentives to find alternatives, on Wednesday again underlined it. “Irrespective of figures in affidavits, we have to consider the plight of the farmers…what compels him to burn the stubble? Nobody is concerned about that. People sleeping in five-star hotels in Delhi blame farmers. Look at such small landholdings. Can they afford the machines you all talk about?”
The Supreme Court’s sharp comments were in response to the back and forth between the Delhi government and the centre over the stubble burning data. On Monday, the central government had told the court that farm fires have only 10 per cent share in the national capital’s severe pollution, contradicting the Delhi Government, which places most of the blame on stubble burning.
The law officer complained of “nasty and irresponsible utterances” made in the media that he had submitted in the last hearing that stubble burning contributed only 10% to the pollution. The government affidavit had clearly pegged the impact of farm fires at 35% to 40% in October and November.
The court said it was not interested in a blame game. Every media organisation has its own statistics. “Debates on TV are creating more pollution… Statements are made out of context. Everybody has their own agenda… We are focussing on a solution here,” the CJI advised course correction in the submissions in court.
Justice Kant said irrespective of the percentage of contribution, the cardinal question was what the government had done to incentivized farmers to stop stubble burning. “Whether it is 10% or 5%, have you looked at the plight of farmers and what prompts them to resort to stubble burning? Under what circumstances they do that? People sitting in Delhi in five-star and seven-star hotels need to understand…” he stated.
The CJI said, “We cannot penalise farmers. We have asked the States to persuade the farmers against stubble burning… Farmers do not have the money… Firecrackers also see a spurt after Diwali for 10 to 15 days… Can you say firecrackers is not a contributor to pollution?” Justice Kant asked, “Every October and November we assemble on this problem of pollution. Every time the court has to take the initiative.”
Justice Chandrachud queried, “Apart from enforcement, what positive steps have you taken that will have an impact on the ground in the next few days.” The Delhi government said it had done 90% of what the Air Quality Commission has adopted. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Delhi, pointed out that the steps recommended by the Commission were “modelled” on Delhi.
The court, however, acknowledged Singhvi’s submission that Delhi’s measures would be fruitful only if the peripheral States joined in the effort. But Haryana, in turn, claimed to have, like Delhi, implemented “90%” of the measures, including work from home.
Punjab said it had formed over a 1000 teams to travel to villages and stop farm fires, at times extinguishing them. “And what happens to the stubble left in the fields. Have you left farmers to the mercy of God,” Justice Kant asked. The Punjab counsel stressed that it was in the process of purchasing more machines to remove the stubble. The State was working hard to change the “mindset” of farmers. The number of farm fires had considerably lessened.
About the centre asking its employees to work from home, Mehta said restricting the attendance at Central offices in Delhi would have “pan-India ramifications.” The contribution to pollution caused by Central government employees attending office would only be minimum. The government was open to car-pooling and arranging public transport for them.