NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed displeasure at attempts to attribute Delhi-NCR’s pollution crisis solely to stubble burning, directing the Centre and NCR governments to present concrete details of actions taken against other major pollution sources—vehicles, industries, construction activities, and dust—and to show measurable results from those efforts.
Amicus curiae Aparajita Singh and additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati informed the court that stubble burning contributes to Delhi’s pollution burden for only about 15 days during the winter, and that year-round pollution sources demand far more attention.
Defending farmers, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi warned against politicising the stubble burning issue. “During the Covid lockdown, stubble burning continued, yet we could see stars in the night sky. You say measures have been taken—still, we can’t see the stars now,” the bench said. “What tangible results have been achieved through the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)? What action has been taken against other contributors?”
‘Year-round enforcement essential’
The bench questioned what steps had been taken to regulate high-end, fuel-heavy vehicles and stressed that strengthening public transport must be a long-term priority. India’s growing financial capacity has led to a surge in private vehicles, the court noted, while Delhi’s infrastructure was never designed for such numbers.
Although Bhati said stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have been declining, the bench asked whether Delhi-NCR’s air quality had improved in proportion. It also questioned the sincerity of on-ground enforcement of construction bans, with Bhati acknowledging that GRAP restrictions have not been strictly implemented.
The court emphasised that both short- and long-term measures require “intensive year-round implementation” and said it would hear air pollution matters at least twice a month.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar pointed out that thermal power plants were required to install flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) units by 2021 to curb sulphur dioxide emissions. However, the deadline has been repeatedly extended, and plants now have until 2027–29.
When the government said it had already submitted comprehensive pollution-control plans, the bench asked why they were not being revisited despite their limited impact. It also warned that an urban-centric outlook among experts often leads to misguided policy, and recommended involving specialists familiar with India’s ground realities rather than those trained solely at foreign institutions.
The matter will be heard next on December 10.
