SC seeks affidavit from Centre on working of new ordinance to prevent air pollution
Dec 14, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 14 : The Supreme Court on Monday granted two days to the Central government to file an affidavit about the working of the new ordinance, which was brought to deal with air pollution in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde posted the matter for further hearing later this week. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said air pollution figures are much better now and sought two days to file the affidavit on steps taken by the committee.
"We will file an affidavit. The affidavit is ready, give me two days it will be filed. We have made a comprehensive affidavit on steps taken by the committee," Bhati told the bench.
During the hearing, senior advocate Vikas Singh appearing for petitioner Aditya Dubey who filed a plea against stubble burning leading to air pollution, told the court that government had come out with an ordinance and constituted a committee of four members to monitor stubble burning.
The committee has not done anything and pollution will return again next year, Singh said.
The Central government had earlier informed the Supreme Court that an ordinance has been brought in to deal with air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region and adjoining areas.
Earlier, the Centre told Supreme Court that it is contemplating to create a permanent body by enacting legislation to deal with annual air pollution issue in Delhi-NCR arising from stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had earlier sought directions to keep in abeyance it's October 16 order of appointing former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur as a one-man commission, which was accepted by the bench.
The apex court had, on October 16, expressed concern over the air pollution and appointed Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur to act as the one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and submit a report.
The court was hearing a plea filed by a student Aditya Dubey, seeking a direction upon the State governments of Punjab and Haryana to ensure a complete ban on stubble burnings in their respective states.
The plea referred to a Harvard University study that air pollution may now be an important factor that aggravates a mild COVID-19 infection into an acute one, had contended that stubble burning contributes almost 40 per cent of air pollution in Delhi.
