The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stressed the need to assess the economic toll of air pollution, observing that merely using “harsh words will not yield any results”. The oral remarks came during a hearing in a suo motu public interest litigation initiated in 2023 over worsening air quality in Maharashtra.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar was hearing submissions from senior advocate Darius Khambata, the court-appointed amicus curiae, and other parties, including NGO Vanshakti.
Khambata, during his submissions, referred to former IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath’s recent statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she termed pollution a “bigger economic threat to India than trade-related challenges.” Drawing from that, he urged the court to take into account the broader economic costs of air pollution.
He added that a “shock treatment” may be necessary to wake the system from its inertia, stressing that there is no quick-fix solution. “Even China took eight to ten years to see a drastic improvement. But it can be done — provided there is political will,” Khambata submitted.
Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, appearing for Vanshakti, argued that people suffering health setbacks due to pollution deserve compensation. He said the pace of administrative action is “pathetically slow” and emphasized the need to hold authorities accountable.
At the last hearing on January 23, the High Court had come down heavily on municipal bodies, slamming their “belligerent disregard” of court orders. The bench had even warned that it might halt the salaries of top civic officials if non-compliance continued.
However, on Tuesday, the court refrained from issuing fresh directions and adjourned the matter to Thursday. It orally remarked that economic consequences of pollution deserve serious scrutiny, and cautioned that aggressive language alone won’t resolve the crisis.
