SC refuses to entertain fresh PIL on rising pollution levels in Delhi, others cities
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a fresh PIL by a wellness expert seeking urgent judicial intervention to tackle a "persistent and systemic failure" in addressing the country's rising air pollution levels.
The top court, however, allowed holistic health coach Luke Christopher Coutinho to withdraw the PIL and file an intervention plea in a pending case filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on pollution.
"The petitioner seeks liberty to withdraw the plea to file an intervention in pending proceedings in the MC Mehta case," the CJI said.
The court is scheduled to hear the main plea on pollution on Wednesday.
Coutinho had filed the plea on October 24 and made the Centre, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), several Union ministries, NITI Aayog, and the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra as parties.
The plea said the current air pollution crisis has reached proportions of a "public health emergency", violating citizens' fundamental right to life and health under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The plea sought declaration of air pollution as a national public health emergency and formulation of a time-bound national action plan.
"The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019 with the target of reducing particulate matter by 20–30 percent by 2024 (subsequently extended to 40 percent by 2026), has not met its modest objectives. As of July 2025, official data reveals that only 25 of the 130 designated cities have achieved a 40 per cent reduction in PM₁₀ levels from the 2017 baseline, while 25 other cities have in fact seen an increase," it said.
Similar violations are cited in the plea for Kolkata and Lucknow, among others.
The plea sought a direction to make NCAP targets binding with "statutory force, including clear timelines, measurable indicators, and enforceable penalties for non-compliance".
In Delhi alone, 2.2 million schoolchildren have already suffered irreversible lung damage, as confirmed by government and medical studies, the plea alleged.
The plea also submits that air quality monitoring systems are inadequate.
It also sought setting up a National Task Force on Air Quality and Public Health chaired by an independent environmental health expert.
It sought immediate curbs on crop residue burning, including farmer incentives and sustainable alternatives besides phasing out high-emitting vehicles and promoting e-mobility and public transport.
The plea sought strict enforcement of industrial emission norms with real-time monitoring and public disclosure.
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Confident about Cong winning bypolls in Karnataka, guarantee schemes helping us: Siddaramaiah
Davangere (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday expressed confidence that Congress candidates will win both the Bagalkot and Davanagere South assembly bypolls in the state by a huge margin, as the government's five guarantee schemes will help the party.
Asserting that Karnataka's economy is in good shape, he accused the BJP of making negative statements for political gain.
The CM is in Davanagere to campaign for Congress candidate Samarth Mallikarjun, after campaigning for Umesh Meti in the Bagalkot segment for the last two days.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
"I'm confident that we will win in both constituencies by a big margin because of our government's good work. Our guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti', 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya') are helping us. The BJP opposed guarantee schemes because they are programmes for the poor and they always oppose such initiatives," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said over Rs 1.31 lakh crore has been spent on the guarantee schemes so far.
Noting that there are two types of economic theory -- trickle-down economics and universal basic income -- the CM said, "We believe in universal basic income theory because Basavanna, Ambedkar, Gandhiji, among others, wanted the focus to be on eliminating the sufferings of the last man."
"Through the guarantee schemes, the government is providing benefits to the poor in society -- irrespective of their language, caste or religion -- directly to their bank accounts, without any interference from middlemen," he said, as he rejected the BJP's allegations of corruption in guarantee schemes.
Pointing out that the BJP also claims the treasury is empty because of the guarantee schemes and that the state is being pushed into a debt trap, Siddaramaiah said the state's finances were better managed compared to the central government and most of the states where the saffron party is in power.
Karnataka is number two in the country in GST collection and attracting investments. "Then how is the BJP saying that Karnataka's economic situation is not in good shape? They are making such statements for the sake of politics...Karnataka's economic situation is strong. The BJP is lying," he said.
He also claimed that prices of petrol, diesel and other essentials cost less in Karnataka compared to other neighbouring states in South India.
Karnataka's economy is strong and stable, Siddaramaiah said, as he questioned the Modi government over the falling rupee against the dollar, 'Ache din,' doubling farmers' income, and generating 2 crore jobs every year.
The CM also assured of more funds for Davanagere's development saying, "This is bypolls, not general elections. We will give more funds. We are in power and Congress will be in power for two years."
