New Delhi, Dec 10 (FN Agency) The Supreme Court on Friday said the Commission for Air Quality Management will consider the applications filed by various industries and other organisations over relaxation for resumption of industrial activities, issued in view of air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant, declined to hear on its own, every aspect of the intervention applications relating to sugar, rice, paper and building industries. With reference to these applications seeking relaxation of the restrictions issued in view of the alarming air pollution level, the top court of the country said that the matter will be decided by CAQM after taking stock of the situation. The bench, hearing a PIL filed by school student Aditya Dubey, said the Commission can take take a decision on these applications in a week, after taking feedback from the state government in this regard. The Bench asked the states, which did not pay wages to the labourers affected by the restrictions on activities related to building construction, to submit an affidavit and apprise them of the action taken in this regard. The Supreme Court also said that it will issue directions regarding long-term measures to reduce air pollution.
During the hearing, the Central government told the bench that the maximum number of industrial units were caught flouting the measures to check pollution. The flying squads deployed for the purpose of implementing the measures to check pollution were doing their job seriously and swift action has been taken against those flouting the instructions to check pollution. On a demand for partial relaxation of restrictions citing improvement in air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region, the bench said relaxations can only be given gradually after the pollution situation subsides further. Hearing the PIL filed by Dubey, the apex court had on November 24 ordered the restoration of the already existing ban on all other highly polluting activities of building construction except electrical, plumbing, interior designing etc. Meanwhile, the Developer and Builder Forum had filed an intervention application and told the Supreme Court that the amount of pollution caused by the construction activities of residential units was negligible.
The applicant, citing a report released by the Center for Science and Environment Study on pollution, had said that only 6.7 to 7.9 per cent pollution was caused due to construction activities, adding that the alarming levels of air pollution can be attributed to the huge number of vehicles, industrial units operating in Delhi and the National Capital Region, besides stubble burning in neighbouring states. In the intervention application filed through Advocate Nitin Saluja, they had pleaded with the Chief Justice that the re-imposition of ban on all construction activities on November 24, by a three-member apex court bench, had been done without hearing the views of all the parties concerned. The applicant had said that due to the repeated lockdown implemented during the Coronavirus pandemic, the businessmen associated with the construction of buildings have suffered huge losses in the past two years. This has not only impacted them, but also a large number of people involved in construction work, like labourers and suppliers.
The forum has said in its application that based on the court order, the Delhi government has announced compensation only for the workers, but the temporary supervisor, manager and a large number of people indirectly involved in the construction activities were not considered. Apart from the labourers, the livelihood of so many people has been affected. A serious crisis of livelihood has arisen before them again. Considering all these points, exemption should be given in activities related to construction of residential buildings. The applicant also said that like the way the Central Government has promised to follow the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board in the case of Central Vista project, they are also ready to take similar measures regarding construction activities and therefore, they should be allowed to resume work. During the last hearing, the apex court had directed the concerned states, including the Centre and the Delhi government, to strictly implement the measures to check the rising levels of pollution in the Delhi NCR region.
The Supreme Court had on December 3, while granting approval to a five-member Enforcement Task Force constituted by the Quality Management Commission, directed the Centre and the respective state governments to “get on the ground” to implement these precautionary measures. The Bench had taken cognisance of the affidavit filed by the Commission regarding measures to check pollution. The Court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure implementation of the apex court’s directions of December 2. The top court of the country had recently reprimanded the Central and the respective state governments and directed them to take concrete measures in 24 hours to check pollution. In reply, the Commission had filed an affidavit and informed the apex court regarding deployment of enforcement task force and 40 flying squads. Referring to the Commission’s affidavit, the Central government had told the Court that a five-member enforcement task force had been created and the number of flying squads had been increased from 17 to 40.