In a significant move to address the escalating issue of vehicular pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Supreme Court of India has broadened the scope of its examination, demanding responses from key authorities such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
During a session on Monday, the bench, comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, scrutinized the current norms for granting construction permits, specifically the prerequisites for parking facilities in new buildings. Justice Oka raised critical questions about the process, querying, “What does the Delhi master plan say? What is the process for granting permission to construct a residential building?”
The justices also delved into the potential restrictions on the purchase of multiple vehicles by a single family within the Delhi-NCR area, signaling a possible shift towards stricter personal vehicle ownership policies.
Highlighting the urgent need for enhanced public transportation options, the bench remarked, “We need to have a robust public transport system to ensure that vehicular pollution does not rise.”
The court’s inquiry also extended to the affordability of electric vehicles, with the justices asking the government to outline its plans to make such vehicles more accessible to the public.
Apart from the DDA and MCD, notices were also issued to the Central Government, the Delhi Government, and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 3.
This judicial action follows a report from the CAQM which pointed out the need for strict adherence to emission standards and pollution norms, especially given that vehicular emissions are a major contributor to the region’s deteriorating air quality.
The ongoing public interest litigation (PIL), initiated by environmentalist M.C. Mehta back in 1985, continues to shed light on critical environmental issues. Recently, the court has considered implementing hologram-based color-coded stickers nationwide to identify vehicles by fuel type, a measure initially proposed for the NCR in 2018 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
