NCR pollution: NGT issues notice to Delhi Police Commissioner, Special Commissioner, Traffic Management

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Special Commissioner, Traffic Management, and asked them to file their affidavits disclosing the action taken to mitigate the contributory air polluting factors in Delhi and adjoining areas.

A bench, headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava (retd), was hearing a suo moto original application, registered last year, over the issue of deteriorating air quality in the NCR. The green tribunal said that it heard the matter on several occasions in the past, including when the air quality was good and "repeatedly emphasised to take effective steps at the ground level so that the air quality does not deteriorate or there is improvement when the winter comes".

"Now, the winter has started, and we find that the Air Quality Index (AQI) on October 23 in Delhi was 364 in the 'very poor category which reflects that there is a lapse on the part of the authorities in preventing the dip in the air quality in NCR," it said.

The NGT took note of the fact that vehicular pollution was also one of the major contributory factors, and the responsibility of controlling the traffic, unauthorised parking, and banning old impermissible vehicles lies with the Police Department.

"We implead the following as additional respondents: Commissioner of Police, Delhi and Special Commissioner, Traffic Management, Delhi. Let notice be issued to the above newly added respondents for filing the response by way of affidavit disclosing the steps which have been taken at the ground level to mitigate the contributory air polluting factors relating to vehicular movements and parking," it ordered. (IANS)

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