The National Green Tribunal on Friday came down heavily on the Delhi government for its failure to contain the alarming rise in air pollution. Using some harsh words, the NGT told the Arvind Kejriwal-led government that it had made a mess of the national capital.
The NGT said, “You have made a mess of Delhi. You have done what you had to, now we will decide what you have to do. Why didn’t you issue any direction for shutting down polluting industries and construction? You did it yesterday as we told you to do so. Go to the hospital and see number of patients that are being admitted.”
The NGT’s criticism came just a day after the Delhi government announced it was bringing back the Odd-Even formula for vehicular movement in the national capital. The green tribunal said that the Delhi government could not not implement the scheme until it was satisfied on all its queries. It said that the Odd-Even scheme “can’t be a shock treatment.”
“How many builders have you caught? What is being done to stop construction activity? Odd-even formula can’t be imposed like this. Nothing has been done from your (Delhi govt) end since the past one year,” News18 quoted the NGT as saying.
The NGT panel said, “The way it’s being implemented now is ad hoc. As of today, we are convinced that it’s not a proper solution. It will be counterproductive.” The NGT also inquired about the component of car pollution to the overall pollution in Delhi. It promised to sit again on Saturday once the Delhi government had answers to all its questions.
The tribunal also slammed the Punjab’s Congress government asking it to inform the panel on the steps taken by it to contain crop burning or “be prepared to face strict punishment.”
It asked the Punjab government led by Captain Amarinder Singh, “Tell us what is being done on crop burning or be prepared to face strict punishment.”
