NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre, Delhi and states bordering the national capital to suggest emergency measures, including allowing people to work from home, to combat the toxic haze that has covered Delhi and its suburbs.

       A bench headed by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana gave 24 hours to the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to hold an emergency meeting and spell out immediate steps to reduce pollution. The court also directed Punjab and Haryana to persuade farmers to halt stubble burning for two weeks.

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       “We want you to come out with a concrete action plan by tomorrow. All the governments and the Centre (must) come out with concrete steps. Otherwise, don’t blame us for passing any direction we deem appropriate," said the bench, fixing Wednesday as the next day of the hearing.

       The bench, which included justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant, also listed out the areas of concern, including dissuading farmers from burning stubble and restricting vehicular traffic.

       The court’s focus was on emergency action to control local sources of pollution, asking for a meeting of the Centre and states in 24 hours to focus on curtailing activities such as construction, road transport, industries, and power plants.

       During the hearing, the bench lamented that it was being “forced to set the agenda" on the pollution crisis in the National Capital Region (NCR). The court pulled up the Delhi government for “passing the buck", the Centre for not proposing “drastic measures", and NCR states for not doing enough to control what has become an annual public health crisis.

       It suggested that the Centre and Delhi governments consider a lockdown for a few days to control road traffic and vehicular pollution, besides curtailing road dust, which is the prime cause of pollution according to the governments.

       The court said it wanted a report by Wednesday morning on “what further orders they (Centre and states) can pass or steps they can take to effectively control air pollution and to ensure (its implementation)."

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       “Decide what industries are to be stopped, which vehicles can be prevented from plying, which power plants can be stopped and how you can provide cleaner and alternative fuel in the meantime," it said.

       The court’s directions come when pollution in the region has oscillated between “severe" and “very poor"—hazardous levels on the Air Quality Index scale—as they do every year in the first few weeks of November, and none of the measures put in place by administrations at various levels seems to have worked.

       When the hearing started on Monday, senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for the 17-year-old petitioner, Aditya Dubey, contended that no actions were taken against crop residue burning because of political reasons. He added that Punjab has to go for the assembly polls next year, so no action is taken.

       The bench, however, retorted: “We don’t want any politics. We only want pollution to come down. We are not concerned with election or politics. Let us see how pollution can be brought down."

       Solicitor general Tushar Mehta conceded stubble burning is not a chief contributor to worsening air quality. He said farm fires contributed a meagre 10% to the bad air a day ago and they are problematic only during the two months in the pre-winter and winter weeks.

       “Are you agreeing in principle that farm fires are not a chief reason for the rise in pollution? So, all the hue and cry over farm fires actually had no legal, scientific or rational basis? Your own affidavit shows stubble burning contributes only 4% annually," the bench said.

       It further pointed out that the Centre’s submissions showed that 75% of the pollution is due to three factors—factories, road dust and vehicles. “If we have to reduce pollution drastically, you will have to focus on these three factors to see the effect in the next few days. So, you have to tell us what steps you plan to take immediately. Why don’t you stop plying vehicles in Delhi for two days? This is a decision you have to take," said the bench.

       Mehta responded that measures being considered included imposing a lockdown in the national capital, besides stopping the entry of trucks in Delhi. However, the S-G added, experts have advised that these steps could wait. He also cited the Delhi government’s affidavit to state that the city government has taken some measures in right earnest.

       At this point, the bench observed that the Delhi government seems to blame the farmers for the hazardous air quality. “The Delhi government’s entire affidavit is to blame the farmers. They want to paint them in a bad light," it said.

       Senior counsel Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, tried to point out that the city government has taken various steps and has concentrated on clearing the road dust through road cleaning machines.

       But Mehra failed to give out exact numbers and adequacy of the road cleaning machines deployed in the national capital. Instead, the lawyer submitted that the BJP-headed municipal corporations should apprise the court of these details.

       Irked by this, the bench reproached the Delhi government: “You are only passing the buck. Your lame excuses will force us to hold an audit of revenue you are earning and spending on popularity slogans. People are suffering, and you are not bothered."

       It added: “There is a petition filed by MCD to say they don’t even have money to pay to their employees. And now, you want us to throw this on them...We are not here to criticize anyone, but we want some positive steps. You tell us how many machines can be procured in the next 24 hours."

       Mehra sought some to take instructions and came out with a statement that there are 69 road cleaning machines available today, but the city government would release more funds to purchase machines and any other equipment as required.

       Mehra submitted that the city government is willing to impose a lockdown, but this will have to be implemented throughout NCR, including the cities in Delhi’s adjoining states of UP and Haryana.

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