NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has announced the withdrawal of emergency measures under Stage 4 of the GRAP due to the improvement in Delhi’s AQI. The decision came after a noticeable downward trend in AQI levels was observed. The court was addressing measures to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR areas when it made this statement.
Delhi’s air quality has seen significant improvement with the AQI dropping to a ‘moderate’ level of 161. This change comes after a month of persistent and severe air pollution. A major contributor to Delhi’s air pollution is stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. The Union Environment Ministry has been encouraging farmers to use paddy residue for animal feed and industrial purposes to mitigate this issue.
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The National Green Tribunal recently demanded a response from the Centre on the “persistent air pollution crisis” in Delhi. The tribunal took suo motu cognizance of a media report citing a study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The study revealed that thermal power plants in the region emit 16 times more pollution than stubble burning. The NGT highlighted that prevailing weather conditions such as calm winds and dropping temperatures, exacerbate the pollution crisis by trapping dust, smoke, and other harmful particles.
The Supreme Court emphasized that GRAP-4 measures must be enforced immediately if the AQI level crosses 400 again. The court also expressed discontent over the delayed compensation for construction workers, who have been adversely affected by the ban on construction activities due to the imposing GRAP-4. The Delhi Chief Secretary was threatened with contempt proceedings after the government paid only Rs 2,000 to each of the 90,000 registered workers, far short of the Rs 8,000 promised to them. The Chief Secretary assured the court that the remaining Rs 6,000 would be disbursed by the following day.
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The Supreme Court had earlier declined to ease the emergency measures under GRAP-4 which included a ban on truck entry and construction work until a “downward trend” in AQI was noticed. The court had also noted that none of the NCR states including Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh had complied with its earlier directions regarding compensation to construction workers. The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the enforcement of GRAP-4 measures which highlights ineffective implementation of the ban on truck entry and construction activities.
