Clean air initiatives during Diwali and other festivals must transform into a people's movement, and controlling pollution during such festivals cannot be achieved solely through judicial decrees and police deployment, the Supreme Court said on Friday, November 6.

Source: Bar and Bench

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, urged the government in Delhi and other authorities to ensure active involvement of local municipal councillors to urge citizens against bursting polluting firecrackers during the upcoming Diwali.

"The more orders the Court passes, the more violations there may be. That is the tendency. Involve local councillors. Ask them to appeal to people to ensure that their Diwali celebrations do not contribute to pollution. It should become a people's movement," the Chief Justice remarked, as reported by Bar and Bench and LawBeat.

Source: LawBeat

Heard in the Delhi-NCR air pollution case

The remarks came during the hearing of the suo motu case titled In Re: Curbing Air Pollution in the National Capital Region — Regulatory and Policy Framework, Air Quality Governance and Other Ancillary Issues, which concerns the worsening air quality in Delhi-NCR ahead of the winter season. Amicus curiae Aparajita Singh told the Bench that police deployment had limits and the state could not place an officer in every household.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had permitted bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR on November 7 and 8 during designated morning and evening hours on the eve of Diwali and the festival day, LawBeat reported. Court reports also put Delhi's overall Air Quality Index at 389, in the 'very poor' category, on Friday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.