Pollution in Delhi-NCR: People losing precious years of their lives, says Supreme Court
New Delhi: People are losing precious years of their lives due to pollution, the Supreme Court said Monday and slammed authorities for their failure to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR.
A bench of justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta asked the Centre to call environmental experts, including from IIT, to the court within 30 minutes.
"Can we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive," the bench said adding that the authorities have left the people to die.
The court said it will not tolerate this and will fix liability on the state governments.
"Delhi is choking every year and we are not able to do anything. Question is that every year this is happening," the bench said, adding, "It cannot be done in a civilised country".
It also took serious note of crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh and said it cannot go unabated every year.
"Why there should be unabated crop burning every year? Every year there is hue and cry. States know this but still they are not tackling this issue," the bench said.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the apex court as an amicus curiae in the air pollution matter, told the bench that as per the Centre's affidavit, crop burning has gone up by 7 per cent in Punjab and down by 17 per cent in Haryana.
The top court called the pollution in Delhi-NCR as atrocious and said no one is safe even inside homes. "It is too much. No one is safe even inside their house. It is atrocious," the bench said.
People are being advised not to come to Delhi due to pollution, state governments are responsible for this.
"You are asking people to die. Your states (Punjab and Haryana) are also badly affected. Is this the administration left in Punjab and Haryana? Every year this is happening. We will fasten the liability of states and panchayats also," the bench said.
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TN CM Vijay calls fuel price hike ‘unacceptable’, seeks rollback
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday slammed the increase of Rs 3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices, calling it "unacceptable", and demanded its immediate rollback, claiming the revision would affect various sections of society.
He said oil marketing companies do not reduce prices in line with global crude price trends and "take the profits".
"Union government oil marketing companies have increased the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre. This is not acceptable," Vijay said in a statement.
The hike has been effected after the "five-state polls" (four states and one union territory), he added.
This price rise will largely affect the income of the poor and middle class using two-wheelers and small vehicles, as well as others dependent on vehicles for their livelihood, the CM said.
It will ultimately result in an increase in the prices of daily commodities and also "affect the purchasing power of the poor," he added.
Citing the chain effect of the price revision, such as increased input costs for small units, he said it could lead to a "slowdown" in the market and exports.
"Therefore, I urge the union government to immediately roll back the price hike that will affect the poor and middle-class people and SMEs," Vijay added.
Global crude oil prices have surged more than 50 per cent since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation, which disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil shipments.
Petrol and diesel prices are now at their highest level since May 2022.
