Deteriorating AQI | “No Significant Improvement”, NGT Directs State Chief Secretaries To Come Up With Adequate Measures

The principal bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all the Chief Secretaries of the States where cities’s “AQI is dipped or continued to be severe, very poor and poor”, to take all possible immediate remedial measures and ensure that the air quality improves.

A bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Sudhir Agarwal, Dr. A. Senthil Vel observed, “The issue needs to be considered by the concerned authorities with full seriousness as a dip in the air quality has serious adverse effect on the health of general public especially infants and elderly.”

The development came after the reports were submitted by various state authorities in pursuance of NGT’ s direction.

Perusing the reports, the Tribunal found that it “clearly depicts that the concerned authorities somewhere are lacking in making the desired efforts which could bring about improvement in the air quality.”

“The reports have been filed by the State of Bihar, Punjab Pollution control Board State of MP, Gujarat Pollution control Board State of Haryana, State of UP, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Deputy Commissioner. Ludhiana, Punjab, Environment Department, Govt. of H.P.Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Commission of Air Quality Management (CAOM) in NCR & Adjoining Areas. We have perused these reports and also have heard the Learned Counsels for the parties. We find what in these reports mostly long-term action plans for controlling the “immediate remediate remedial action”, has not been fully complied with.

It further said that though, the Counsels for the parties have stated that adequate action has been taken to control the pollution but a perusal of the chart reproduced above does not depict any significant improvement. The concerned State Authorities and the Chief Secretaries, therefore, are required to review their approach and come up with adequate measures so that the air quality in the concerned cities improves.

While listing the matter for November 22, it directed the Chief Secretaries to file further action taken report be filed within 10 days.

On November 1, the NGT had taken suo moto cognizance of the deteriorating AQI on the basis of the Air Quality Bulletins of CPCB posted on their website in respect of AQI for different cities from October 20 to November 01, 2023.

Raising concern over deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI), the principal bench had directed the Chief Secretaries of the States where the Index has dipped to severe, very poor and poor, to take immediate remedial action and submit an action taken report.