New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (November 18) directed all governments in the National Capital Region (NCR) to strictly implement stage 4 of GRAP and directed them to take an immediate call to stop physical classes of all standards up to class 12.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih also directed all NCR states to immediately constitute teams for monitoring actions which are required under stage 4 of GRAP and to set up grievance redressal mechanism to report violations of the step.
Stage 4 of GRAP will continue even if AQI falls below 450: Apex Court
“We direct all governments of the NCR to strictly implement stage 4 of GRAP. All states will constitute immediately teams for monitoring actions which are required under stage 4. The governments of the NCR state and Union of India to immediately take a call on steps provided in stage 4 and place them before us before next date of hearing,” the bench said.
The bench directed the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) to look into complaints regarding violations of steps and said that the stage 4 of GRAP will continue even if the AQI falls below 450.
“We make it clear that till further orders of this court implementation of stage 4 of GRAP shall continue even if AQI level falls below 450. We direct all states and the central government to file compliance affidavit by Thursday,” the bench said.
Apex Court was hearing a plea on prevailing severe air quality in Delhi, NCR
The bench was hearing a plea on the prevailing severe air pollution in the national capital region and seeking enforcement of measure to check it.
CAQM cannot wait for improvement of AQI: Apex Court
The bench, during the hearing, pulled up the CAQM for waiting for AQI to improve and thus delaying the implementation of the GRAP 3 and 4 stages even when the AQI had crossed the range and said that the CAQM cannot wait for the improvement of AQI and this is a wrong approach.
The bench noted that stage 3 of GRAP comes into the picture when AQI ranges from 401 to 450 and that the AQI had crossed the range on November 13 itself.
“Instead of immediately directing the implementation of stage 3 of GRAP, it was implemented from November 14. Same is the case with the implementation of stage 4 of GRAP from November 17,” the bench noted and said that the approach is contrary to its order dated October 29, 2018 directing preventive steps.
“The approach adopted by the commission (CAQM) seems to be that it waited for AQI to improve and thus delaying implementation of stage 3 and 4 of GRAP which is a wrong approach. The commission cannot wait for the improvement of AQI,” the bench said.
