The Delhi government, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) agree that the capital’s ongoing air pollution crisis is an “emergency”. Unfortunately, nothing they have done over the past three weeks has assured the city’s smog-struck residents that the three agencies are willing to work together in confronting the situation with the urgency it requires.
Two days before Diwali, the EPCA enforced a slew of measures, including a ban on diesel generator sets, that seemed to signal the SC-appointed body’s seriousness in dealing with the pollution that ensues after the festivities. The EPCA also indicated that it would recommend the odd-even policy of road-rationing if Delhi’s air quality did not improve. But when it made such a recommendation last week, the city had already registered “severe” on the Air Quality Index. The Delhi government, despite its reservations over road rationing, decided to comply with the directive. The odd-even policy should have been in place on Monday. But the NGT felt that the policy was too watered down to be effective. The green tribunal wanted the exemptions to two-wheelers, women and government servants to go first. The AAP government promised to respond to NGT’s reservations but on Monday, it appeared before the green court more than an hour late. This means that the odd-even policy will not be in place even today. Meanwhile, the level of particulate matter in Delhi’s air is seven times more than what it should be.
