New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday demanded an "immediate" response from the Delhi government and police to the ban - which seems to exist on paper only - against firecrackers during Diwali, a ban that is announced, and ignored, every year, resulting in a suffocating blanket of toxic air smothering the national capital and surrounding regions for days after the festival is celebrated.
The court issued notice to the Delhi government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party, and the police, which reports to the Union Home Ministry, to explain steps taken to implement and enforce the ban this year, as also measures for the next to "enforce a complete ban" on firecrackers.
"There are widespread news reports the ban on firecrackers (in Delhi NCR) was not implemented at all... this was supposed to be an important measure to reduce pollution," Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih said this afternoon, as they continued a long-running (and annual) hearing into the air quality crisis that consumes Delhi every year.
"What is the order (on banning of firecrackers) ... how is it being implemented... something has to be worked out," the court asked the Delhi government, and tasked it with creating a mechanism "at least for next year" to ensure Delhi doesn't choke on aerial pollutants in 2025.
On Monday morning the air quality index, or AQI, in Delhi plummeted across the city, even four days after Diwali, to the 'severe' category. The AQI reading fell past the 400-mark (on a scale of 500) in many neighbourhoods, including Anand Vihar, Rohini, Ashok Vihar, and Vivek Vihar.
Even the more affluent areas - such as Lodi Road - were not spared the toxic blanket.
The 24-hour average AQI, as of 7am, was 373 - almost as bad as it was Sunday, when it hit a season-worst of 382. That these readings came despite a decrease - by 15 per cent - in the contribution of farm fires to toxic pollutants in the air only underlines the problem at hand.
READ | Delhi's Air Quality Worsens, Crosses 'Severe' Mark In Multiple Areas
The situation in the NCR region also remained concerning, with Noida at 305, Ghaziabad at 295, and Gurugram at 276. High AQI levels were also recorded in nearby states, including Haryana's Hisar (372), and Sriganganagar (397) and Bharatpur (320) in Rajasthan.
At midnight on the day after Diwali (i.e., November 2), PM2.5 levels in Delhi hit a dangerous high of 603 micrograms per cubic metre, or 13 per cent more than each of the last two years. Diwali night also saw higher nitrogen dioxide levels, the Centre for Science and Environment said.
READ | Delhi's PM 2.5 Levels 13% Higher Than Last Diwali: Report
PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles with a diameter generally 2.5 micrometres or less and are hazardous for health. The acceptable annual standard is 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, also directed the Punjab and Haryana governments to file affidavits detailing incidents of farm fires, or burning of agricultural waste, which releases pollutants into the air, from October 22 to 31. The next hearing has been set for November 14.
The court also questioned the central government over framing and implementing rules for imposing financial penalties on farmers found guilty of burning waste material.
In previous hearings Punjab and Haryana were questioned over the lack of prosecution of such cases.
READ | "Mere Eyewash": Top Court Raps Punjab, Haryana Over Stubble Burning
The central government was reprimanded over "toothless" environmental protection laws, with specific reference to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act of 2021 that the court said had been passed sans any administrative machinery to ensure implementation.
READ | "Punjab Should Say It Is Helpless": Top Court On Delhi Air Pollution
Towards that end, the court asked how long it would take for Section 15 of the EPA - which covers penalties for violating anti-pollution laws - to become operative again. The government said draft rules had been made and translation (into state languages) would take two weeks.
With input from agencies
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