Delhi out of ICU but still in emergency SC bans stubble burning, summons top state officials
City out of gas chamber at long last; air quality likely to improve further if steady wind persists today
NEWDELHI: The sun finally shone on Monday, pulling Delhi out of its thick blanket of smog and gloom. As the clouds cleared and winds picked up pace, the haze began clearing — much to the relief of residents who were struggling to breathe in the noxious air.
Though the air quality index (AQI) was still in the ‘severe’ zone, it was a marked improvement from Sunday when Delhi turned into a gas chamber with a toxic haze and smoke.
The air quality is likely to improve to ‘very poor’ zone in Tuesday’s 4pm bulletin, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials said. The 24-hour AQI as per CPCB’S 4 pm bulletin on Monday was 407. It was 494 on Sunday; the worst since November 6, 2016 when it plunged to 497. Light rainfall is expected during November 6-8.
Visibility improved to 2,200 metres on Monday. On Sunday, it was less than 200 metres. It was also the first day of the implementation of the odd-even road rationing scheme, aimed at bringing down pollution levels.
The concentration of PM 2.5 – the most harmful aerosols in Delhi’s air — still remained above the ‘emergency’ mark of 300ug/m3 till at least 6 pm. It started to fall marginally to 290ug/m3 around 7 pm .
According to Indian parameters, the standard levels for PM 2.5 is 60ug/m3.on Sunday, the PM 2.5 levels had shot up nine times above the safe limit to 550ug/m3 as people complaining of burning eyes, sore throat and shortness of breath.
The levels of PM 10 – relatively less harmful than PM 2.5 --- were out of emergency mark of 500ug/m3 during the day. It was recorded at 412 at 5 pm and fell to 398 by 7 pm.
The sharp spike in PM 2.5 levels was mainly because of increased formation of ‘secondary particles’, which continued to show its affect on Monday. Traces of rain were observed at Safdarjung Observatory, representative of Delhi’s weather.
Experts say secondary particles are more toxic than particulate matter (PM). Scanty rainfall on Sunday resulted in an increase in humidity, triggering the massive pollution spike. The air trapped pollutants, which reacted with gases and resulted in an increased formation of such particles. The ratio of PM2.5 and PM10 usually remains 50:50 in the air. The levels of PM 2.5 had shot up to 75% on Sunday.
“Very light rainfall occurred in Delhi-ncr on Sunday night. Until midnight, the formation of secondary particles was on while the share of PM 2.5 was still at 75%. Even though increased wind speed started flushing out pollutants during the day, the average PM concentration was high and took time to recede, keeping the air quality in ‘severe’ zone. It is likely to improve to ‘very poor’ on Tuesday,” said G Beig, head, System
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued several directions aimed at addressing Delhi’s air pollution crisis, caused largely by farm fires in neighbouring states even as it came down hard on the local governments in these states and also on farmers.
It said state governments seemed only interested in “electioneering and gimmicks” and added that it had “no sympathy” for farmers who are “telling others that they can die”.
The court ordered a complete ban on stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh, and put the onus on local administrations to ensure this even as it mentioned that the air pollution is violative of the right to live.
“Right to live is a fundamental right and nobody can violate it. If one person (farmer) has no respect for the right of others then he has no rights at all,” a bench of justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta remarked as it warned of severe action against the Chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh if stubble burning in the respective states did not stop immediately.
The bench also warned that it would act against district collectors, gram pradhans, tehsildars and police if the order is violated.
The bench passed scathing remarks against state administrations and the Centre for failing to prevent Delhi from being converted into a gas chamber. The government’s special task force, constituted to look into the stubble burning issue , was asked to convene a meeting on Monday itself and told to place a report before the bench on November 6. The court also summoned chief secretaries of the three neighbouring states on the same day.
“It is shameful to see how people are being advised not to come to Delhi. This never happens in a civilized society. This (situation in Delhi) is worse than emergency. The air quality index in bedrooms has reached 500. It is not safe to live even in your own house today,” the bench said.
The bench also questioned the logic of the Delhi Government’s odd-even scheme, a measure kick started on Monday to bring down pollution levels. The Aap-led administration has been asked to present before the court data in support of the drive that will end on November 15.
The bench stopped construction and development activities in Delhi and the National Capital Territory and ordered a fine of Rs 1 lakh in case of a violation. Burning of garbage was also banned and those found flouting it will be fined Rs 5,000, the bench added. The court asked both Centre and Delhi government to “work in tandem” on “war footing” to ensure that there is no burning or garbage as this was contributing to the air pollution.
The court directed that water be sprinkled on dusty roads to contain fine particles and that the pressure at which this should be done will be prescribed by experts of the Indian Institute of Technology so that the dust is not just wet, but suppressed. It sought to explore the possibility of cloud seeding to contain the smog but dropped this after an IIT expert who was summoned to court opined that the it would not be feasible as the area involved was “vast”.
The bench asked the apex court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca) to meet Monday and decide on the question whether to temporarily disallow diesel trucks into Delhi and asked the states to ensure there are no power cuts, forcing people to use diesel generators and add to the pollution.
“We are at a loss to understand why the situation cannot be prevented. It is writ large that the various state governments and civic bodies have failed to fulfil their duties. Time has come to fix accountability”.
“Who is responsible? The state governments are responsible. They are only interested in electioneering and gimmicks. They are allowing people in neighbouring states to die. They have to be actionable in tort” remarked Justice Mishra, heading the special bench that began hearing the matter at about 1:40 pm. Scheduled to take up another matter related to sealing, the bench gave the pollution case priority.
“Today the most important issue to be discussed is pollution,” the court said, terming the situation a “shocking state of affairs” and “blatant violation of Article 21 rights (right to life).
The situation was not a new one, the court noted.