Breathless Delhi: Green Tribunal Bans All Construction For 7 Days
You have done nothing for past one year, green tribunal pulls up Delhi’s five neighbouring states.
The National Green Tribunal pulled up state governments on Tuesday for not taking steps well in advance to curb pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The tribunal banned all construction work in Delhi and NCR for one week, and asked municipal bodies to deploy 50 percent of their staff to curb crop burning and construction activities in NCR.
The court questioned the environment secretaries of five states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi – about steps taken against crop burning, construction activities and vehicle pollution.
Unhappy with measures taken by state governments to tackle air pollution, the tribunal asked the five states to explain their implementation plan for five of its earlier orders, in connection with curbing pollution, by Wednesday.
NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar observed that states have not taken adequate steps which shows their “seriousness about a matter of life and death”.
You (states) have done nothing for past one year. We passed six orders last year. Show us how many orders have been implemented? We know nothing has happened. Cannot have situation where children are prevented from going outside.Justice Swatanter Kumar, Chairperson, NGT
The bench also asked states if they could have used helicopters to sprinkle water over NCR to reduce smog.
“It's common sense that water is the best method to reduce particulate matters (PM). Punjab and Haryana could have discouraged crop burning, given compensation to farmers to prevent pollution,” Justice Kumar told states’ counsels.
The green tribunal will hear pollution related matters on Wednesday when states have to provide a concrete plan regarding measures to curb pollution. The bench has warned states of hefty fines if they fail to provide details.