SC Questions Role Of Private Vehicles In Delhi Pollution, Seeks Early Stubble Procurement Plan

The Supreme Court on Friday said the procurement price for crop stubble, or parali, should be announced well in advance and that a management system for its collection should be made available to gram panchayats. The court was hearing a petition on the air pollution crisis in the National Capital Region (NCR).

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana began the hearing with a remark about Delhi's pollution-control measures. “I hope you all are enjoying the weather in Delhi,” the Chief Justice said.

After hearing the parties, the bench observed that repeated judicial orders did not necessarily ensure compliance. “The more orders we pass, the more instances of non-compliance will occur. It's simply human nature,” Justice Kant said.

Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus curiae, told the bench that pollution levels continued to hover around the “severe” category and were affecting her voice. She compared breathing Delhi's air to “smoking 30 cigarettes every day”.

The Supreme Court noted that pollution levels had earlier declined following rainfall and expressed hope that farm fires had stopped as farmers prepared for the next sowing season. Singh told the bench that stubble-burning contributed 14 per cent to Delhi's pollution levels.

While the national capital was already highly polluted, she said, farm fires further worsened the situation. She called for urgent steps to curb both stubble-burning and local sources of pollution, including waste-burning.

The bench also questioned whether stubble-burning alone was responsible for the pollution crisis, asking about the contribution of urban emissions and private vehicles. “Stubble, we keep on talking about... You have provided equipment.

Maybe some may still be hesitant about it. What about elite class people? Vehicles, high-end cars all operate...” the Supreme Court observed. Singh responded that transportation was the primary source of air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

Chief Justice Kant also pointed to vehicular emissions as a major contributor, noting that bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads connecting Delhi with neighbouring NCR areas added to the problem. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that a scheme was already in place to address stubble-burning.

She said the government had submitted a note outlining measures tailored to different regions to tackle the problem. The Centre says a scheme is already in place to address stubble-burning. This scheme outlines regionally tailored measures to tackle the problem.

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