New Delhi, Nov 1:
As the Delhi-NCR faces a public health emergency due to severe deterioration in air quality, the Supreme Court will consider on Monday a special pollution control report filed by a panel appointed by it, the EPCA, and other issues including pollution caused by stubble-burning in the neighbouring states. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority in its report has among other things sought directions to NCR states to take steps to stop burning of waste, toxic emissions from industries and dust from construction sites. The crucial hearing assumes significance as the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority on Friday declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR and banned construction activity till November 5 after the pollution level entered “severe plus” category. Besides the report, the apex court would also consider other issues, including pollution caused by stubble-burning in neighbouring states. In its report, which would be considered by a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, the EPCA has said that though Delhi has been able improve annual air pollution load on the city from 2010 till now, the “city still needs to reduce pollution levels by 65 per cent to meet the national air quality standards”. The EPCA in its “special report on pollution hotspots” in the national capital region (NCR) has identified 14 pollution hotspots — Okhla Phase 2, Dwarka, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Narela, Mundka, Punjabi Bagh, Wazirpur, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, Anand Vihar (including Mandoli), R K Puram, Jahangir Puri and Mayapuri. The report said the EPCA has identified three pollution hot spots in Haryana — Faridabad 1 and 2, Bahadurgarh and Gurgaon (including Udyog Vihar) – and one each in Uttar Pradesh (Sahibabad) and Rajasthan (Bhiwadi). “It becomes highly critical to act on these pollution hot spots to control local polluting sources to ensure healthier air in the region,” it said. “These hot spots have been identified by EPCA based on analysis of data from all the air quality monitoring station in the region and verified by site visits by Chairman EPCA, Bhure Lal,” the report said. It said the “biggest problem” is massive quantities of plastic, rubber and other industrial wastes which are found dumped in vacant areas and then being burnt in the open, leading to pollution. Suggesting ways to deal with the situation, the report said these wastes have to be identified and it should ensured that they are not burnt but removed for processing or incineration. The panel said the apex court may “direct Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to ensure that no waste is burnt in their regions/and that they find methods to remove the piled-up waste in hot spots and to process/incinerate it”.
