Special report on NCR Air Pollution: status of implementation of Hon’ble Supreme Court orders and further directions needed given the severity of the problem in winter
EPCA is submitting this special report for the consideration of the Hon’ble Supreme Court to do the following: To take stock of directions given till date for different sources of pollution and to see what further needs to be done to ensure implementation; and To recommend further actions that need to be taken, keeping in mind the need for strengthened enforcement and to ensure that actions to combat pollution can match the scale and severity of the problem. It is well understood today that people in Delhi and NCR (and in many other parts of the country) face a public health emergency because of extremely toxic air. This pollution is worse in winter, when the weather conditions lead to inversion (because of cold); moisture (that traps the pollutants) and poor wind (that does not allow for dispersion). This is why even though the sources of pollution remain constant through the year, the level of pollution peaks in winter. This is also why pollution is high in north Indian cities as against south or coastal India.
