The National Green Tribunal on Friday directed the chief secretaries of the states where the Air Quality Index (AQI) has dipped to poor, very poor and severe categories to take immediate remedial action.
The green panel was hearing a matter where it had taken cognisance of the online air quality bulletins of the Central Pollution Control Board across different cities from October 20 to November 1.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said,”The chief secretaries of the states where the cities’ AQI has dipped to severe, very poor and poor, are directed to take immediate remedial action and submit action taken report before the tribunal on or before the next date of hearing (Nov 10).”
The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, noted that on November 1, the AQI plunged to “severe” category in various places, including Hanumangarh, Fatehabad, and Hisar, while Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Rohtak and Sri Ganganagar were in the “very poor” category.
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It said the AQI was in the “poor” category in several towns and cities in the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The bench said, “A serious condition is reflected in various cities in air quality Bulletins. Hence, immediate action is required for the prevention and control of air pollution in these cities so as to ensure better air quality for the residents.”
It issued notices to the chief secretaries concerned, the Chairman, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), National Task Force through its Head Secretary, and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
