Key Points
- A court commissioner was threatened while documenting pollution violations at a senior BHEL official’s house in Delhi.
- The commissioner found violations of pollution rules, including illegal construction, waste burning, and industrial emissions.
- The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has been criticized for not enforcing anti-pollution rules effectively.
- Other commissioners pointed to traffic congestion, biomass burning, and dust from construction as major pollution causes.
Looma News
A court commissioner, appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor anti-pollution efforts in Delhi-NCR, reported being threatened while documenting pollution violations. Advocate Manan Verma, one of the commissioners, was taking photos of illegal construction at the home of a senior BHEL official in Delhi when he was confronted by a man who questioned his authority. The person demanded to see his identification and threatened him. Verma quickly left the site and reported the incident to the Delhi Police, who took immediate action.
Verma’s report highlighted several violations of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4, which bans activities like construction, stubble burning, and illegal waste burning. He pointed out ongoing construction in Noida, illegal waste burning in Madanpur Khadar, and industrial emissions in Meerut. The commissioner criticized the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for not taking enough action to punish violators.
Advocate Aditya Manubarwala, another court commissioner, noted that poorly maintained roads in Delhi were causing traffic jams, which led to more vehicle emissions. He also mentioned that dust from these roads was increasing PM2.5 levels, contributing to the city’s pollution. Manubarwala suggested that the government should consider restricting wedding processions, as was done during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ease traffic. He also called for better dust control measures by the Delhi Metro during construction work.
Advocate Srishti Mishra, another commissioner, found that bio-mass burning in areas like Singhi Basti and Sapera Basti was a major source of air pollution. Many households in these areas still rely on burning wood for cooking, using 4-5 kg of wood every day instead of cooking with gas. The findings of the court commissioners underline the ongoing challenges in tackling pollution in Delhi and the need for stronger enforcement of existing rules.
