Supreme Court: In a case addressing the issue of pollution in Delhi, a division bench comprising Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih, JJ. directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (‘CAQM’) to reconsider its decision to close schools in the National Capital Region (‘NCR’), particularly for classes 10 to 12. The Court expressed concern over students losing access to mid-day meals and lacking air purifiers at home, underscoring the adverse impact of school closures on their well-being.
The Court emphasized that the CAQM must consider relaxing the norms regarding school closures, highlighting that a significant number of students are unable to access mid-day meals and many lack air purifiers at home. The Court further noted that there is not a substantial difference in air quality between outdoor and indoor environments for these children. The Court asked the CAQM to take a decision on the matter either on the same day or by the following day, emphasizing the urgency of the issue.
The Court suggested that CAQM could at least consider reopening schools after comparing the Air Quality Index (AQI) figures from previous years, to assess whether current conditions justify continued closures.
With respect to other restrictions in Delhi-NCR, the Court stated that unless there is sufficient evidence of improvement in air quality, it cannot justify reducing measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from Level IV to Level III or II.
The Court observed that the authorities responsible for implementing Clauses 1 to 3 of GRAP-IV had not made any earnest efforts to enforce the necessary measures. It noted that the deployment of police personnel occurred only on 23-11-2024, highlighting a significant lapse by the authorities concerned. Consequently, the Court directed CAQM to initiate action under Section 14 of the CAQM Act, 2021, against those accountable for this failure.
The Court also directed CAQM to issue necessary directions to the authorities to ensure that laborers and daily wagers do not face undue hardship due to the ongoing restrictions.
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Source: Press
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