Panel to tackle bad air begins functioning

The Centre has notified the Commission for Air Quality Management for the National Capital Region (NCR) days after it issued an ordinance on October 29 to set up the new agency with sweeping powers to monitor and act against sources of air pollution across five north Indian states. The ordinance empowers the agency to make rules, set emission standards, and slap fines of up to ₹1 crore or imprison violators for up to five years.

In a notification issued on Thursday, the Centre said former Delhi chief secretary MM Kutty will be the commission’s first chairperson. Kutty is also ex-secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

In exercise of its powers under the ordinance, a selection panel under Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar’s chairmanship selected Kutty. The panel that also comprises Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, Harsh Vardhan; and cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba has named Arvind Kumar Nautiyal, joint secretary, as the Commission’s full-time member. Professor Mukesh Khare of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and KJ Ramesh, former director-general of India Meteorological Department, will be the agency’s fulltime technical members. Ajay Mathur, the director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute, and Ashish Dhawan of Air Pollution Action Group have been selected as the Commission’s non-government members. Respective state governments will appoint the rest of the agency’s nine ex-officio members.

The rules for the Commission’s functioning are yet to be formulated.

As per the ordinance, the members of the agency have to be drawn from Union ministries, non-governmental organisations and the five states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The ordinance was issued days after solicitor general Tus

har Mehta told the Supreme Court that the Centre will “do everything on a war footing to curb air pollution”. The Centre earlier sought time from the court to create a permanent mechanism to tackle the problem.

The Commission replaces all ad hoc committees and bodies created as per court orders. They include the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority that was formed to oversee measures to check air pollution in NCR in 1998. The commission will be a statutory authority with powers to issue directions and take up complaints. It can regulate and prohibit activities likely to cause or increase air pollution. The Commission is empowered to lay down parameters and standards.