Pollution in Patna and Raipur worse than NCR, formulate plan to curb it countrywide, SC tells Centre
The Centre has told a division bench of the top court that it will earmark Rs 1,000 crore in the upcoming budget to tackle the problem of air pollution.
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to formulate a plan to curb pollution in Delhi and other cities, IANS reported. A division bench headed by justice Madan B Lokur was hearing a petition filed by environmentalist MC Mehta.
The Centre said it had notified a comprehensive action plan to deal with air pollution countrywide. It said the Central Pollution Control Board will issue directions to respective authorities of the central government, Delhi and the National Capital Region to take steps as per the plan.
The judge wondered why the Delhi and National Capital Region was getting “special treatment” though air pollution was worse in Patna and Raipur.
On Wednesday, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that the sub-committee on prevention of stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh had submitted its report, PTI reported. The Narendra Modi government told the court that a high-level task force that it constituted had accepted the report.
The Cabinet Secretariat had constituted the task force for management of air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region in November 2017. It comprised experts and senior officials of various departments.
The Centre has also said that it will earmark Rs 1,000 crore in the upcoming budget to tackle the problem of air pollution, according to The Times of India.
Stubble burning led to the blanket of smog that enveloped the National Capital Region and parts of North India in November and December 2017. On November 22, 2017, the green court had asked the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to come up with a solution to the problem.
On December 28, the Centre approved a regional project under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change to incentivise farmers against stubble burning in Delhi’s neighbouring states.
The first phase of the “Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management” project is estimated to cost approximately Rs 100 crore for the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.