"We will hear them tomorrow," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao said when some lawyers and the representative of the apex court- appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) mentioned the matters relating to pollution level in Delhi and NCR for urgent hearing.
Sunita Narain of EPCA termed the smog cover that has engulfed the national capital as the "worst" in last 17 years and said there was a need for "short-term emergency action and strict enforcement" of the court's directions for effective control of "toxic and dangerous air pollution".
Aparajita Singh, who along with senior advocate Harish Salve, have been appointed as amicus curiae in the matter, urged the apex court to take up the matter urgently saying Delhi is facing "public health emergency".
"EPCA would request the Supreme Court to closely monitor this critical situation so as to ensure that enforcement is stringent and that based on the level of risk, it can direct remedial action. We believe this is an extremely dangerous situation and one that needs drastic action - short term and long term - as current levels of pollution are extremely toxic and extremely hazardous for human health," EPCA said.
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Besides EPCA, Supreme Court lawyer R K Kapoor also filed
a fresh PIL on the issue saying the state has a duty to secure the right to life of its citizens.
"Citizens have to breathe in every polluted particle from the air which results in increase in asthma and cancer in the lungs," the PIL said.
Framing questions of law, the plea asked "whether the respondent authorities are not bound to take immediate steps to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens including the rights granted under article 21 of the Constitution?"
"Whether short-term and long-term measures are not required to be taken by the respondent authorities to protect the health and life of the citizens of Delhi," another question read.
"This severe smog episode is a result of many factors and must be treated as a public health emergency," it said.
EPCA said the apex court, from time to time, has been issuing a slew of directions including restricting traffic flow into Delhi and imposing green cess to curb pollution, but now there was a need to monitor and ensure implementation of the directives already issued.
"Ensuring the early introduction of RFID will improve compliance and enforcement of this measure," the EPCA said.
Referring to enforcement of directions for effective action to control pollution, EPCA said there has to be strict compliance of directives on control of "dust pollution from construction activities and roads through vacuum cleaning; water spraying and horticulture.