Supreme Court Directs Delhi Govt to Strengthen Checks at 113 Entry Points Amid Rising Air Pollution

Supreme Court: The Apex Court on Friday asked the Delhi government to ensure the posting of police personnel to all the 113 entry points to prevent the entry of trucks into the national capital region. This was directed while the court was considering a plea pertaining to the need for the implementation of measures to mitigate the air pollution levels in National Capital Territory of Delhi as the Air Quality Index-AQI of the capital was on the decline.

As it questioned the government of Delhi over the trucks, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said, “It is very difficult for us to assume that entry of trucks in Delhi has been stopped."

Constraint, he hoped that whether or not it was even feasible to include certain provisions at all towards the current level of the said reforms.

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“We will directly ask the central government to post police personnel at all 113 entry points. We will direct the Delhi State legal services authority to deploy paralegal volunteers. They will constitute teams to visit all entry points and submit a report to us whether really vehicles are being stopped," said Justice Oka.

“It is very difficult for us to assume that the entry of trucks is being stopped because there is no material placed on record that how many check posts you have established," he added.

In addition, Justice Oka posed that a bar team of five members be appointed to go to all entry points to Delhi on Friday and Saturday.

In the following days, he stated that the court had actually set Monday two days after Thanksgiving for review of compliance with its orders and would consider at that time whether it was feasible to lower the level of adaptation measures from GRAP IV to GRAP II.

The matter was rescheduled for further consideration on November 27.

In its order, the court said, “Firstly, we have analysed the affidavit of the Delhi government listing the measures prescribed in GRAP IV, as far as stopping entry of trucks and entry of SUVs registered outside Delhi is concerned."

“So as far as compliance is concerned, we are not satisfied. The government has not stated clearly that as to at how many entry points there and if there are officers present to comply with measures of GRAP IV. Amicus has stated that there are 113 entry points but the counsel for the Delhi government states that vigil is maintained primarily at 13 major entry points for ensuring compliance," it said.

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“This means that for the other 100 points, there is no restriction on vehicles. We direct the Delhi government and the Delhi Police to ensure that checkposts are immediately set up at all 113 entry points. The personnel who are going to man the entry points must be informed about the accepted items which counsel for the Delhi government has highlighted as essential commodities," the court said.

“Learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for Union shall forward 13 names to the commissioner of Delhi, who will immediately appoint a nodal officer who will get in touch with 13 members of the bar. This will ensure that the visit of 13 members to various entry points will be facilitated. Their job would be to ascertain that clauses A and B of GRAP IV are being implemented at the entry point.

They will be allowed to take photographs and submit a detailed report by tomorrow," the court added.

On November 18, the supreme court ordered the Delhi administration and neighboring states to enforce anti pollution measures under graded response action plan 4, and also prohibited any implementation lapse till next orders.

A corresponding decrease in air quality was reported in the capital city, as noted by the Central Pollution Control Board on November 22 and Friday the air in Delhi was last said to be very poor.

Delhi’s air quality index was reported to be 371 at 7 am today and classified it as ‘quite unhealthy’, as per news agency, ANI.

As per the CPCB statistics, the AQI reading at Chandni Chowk reported up to 7 am was 359, IGI Airport (T3) 357, ITO 344, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 342, RK Puram 372, Okhla Ph 2 374, Patparganj 379, Sonia Vihar 400 and Aya Nagar 359.

Nevertheless, quite a number of places in Delhi still recorded air pollution levels classified as ‘severe’ where exposed to even higher potential air pollution hazards. Anand Vihar recorded AQI levels of 410 while Bawana 411, Mundka 402 and Wazirpur 413.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is severe.

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