'Look at the signal we are sending to the world,' SC over Delhi pollution crisis

New Delhi: In the latest hearing on the Delhi Pollution crisis PIL (Public Interest Litigation), the Supreme Court has asked the government 'to contemplate over the signal we are sending to the world with such a situation in the national capital'. In this hearing led by a bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant, several reasons leading to the problem and the possible plans of action have been proposed and discussed since morning.

The Supreme Court has said that the measures given by the government are all ad hoc measures and there needs to be a proper model capable of ensuring that the situation doesn't reach such severity. It further suggested that a scientific model needs to be developed based on legitimate statistics to deal with the degrading conditions, preferably with the help of supercomputers.

The SC also highlighted that there is no substantial change in the levels of pollution since the last time, and even if the pollution level goes down now, it does not intend to close the case. It suggested that the thousands and crores of funds that lie with the states should be used to pay the daily wage workers for some days until the ban on construction and other activities is lifted.

As the stubble burning in the states of Punjab, UP and Haryana were also cited as a contributory reason for the hike in pollution, the SC asked the states if they have conducted any study on how much stubble they have removed. The court also put a question mark on the incapabilities of the bureaucrats. "What has the bureaucracy been doing these all years? Let them sit together. Someone needs to go to the field, talk to the farmers, involve scientists and find a solution," the bench said.

The next hearing over the matter is scheduled for Monday. The court has also said that if the situation improves by then, some restrictions can perhaps be lifted.