The Supreme Court has reprimanded the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for failing to address Delhi's chronic air pollution problem. The court urged the agency to identify specific pollution sources and devise long-term solutions.
Delhi's air pollution stems from well-known sources, including vehicular exhaust, industrial emissions, dust from construction sites, and fumes from seasonal farm fires. Established in 2020 by the Union environment ministry, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was meant to address this gap, yet the agency has fallen short of its mandate. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rebuked CAQM for "failing" to identify the definite causes of the worsening Air Quality Index (AQI) or their long-term solutions.
AQI data indicates that Delhi's poor air burden is not a seasonal aberration but a year-round challenge, varying in intensity across months, weeks, days, and even hours. Tackling the high baseline pollution requires a decisive regulator focused unwaveringly on emission hotspots—industrial sites, congested traffic areas, construction zones, and unpaved roads. Such monitoring is essential for prompt policy responses and generating real-time, granular data to spot emerging trends before they become emergencies.
CAQM has largely adopted the reactive tactics of its predecessor, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, relying on bans and punitive measures. Execution, however, often falters with state pollution boards, municipal bodies, and enforcement agencies. Accountability suffers in this fragmented system, which also lacks urgency. For instance, in September last year, the Supreme Court criticized CAQM because its subcommittees had met only once in three months. On Tuesday, the two-judge bench directed CAQM to quantify emissions from each polluting source and plan long-term solutions. The court's reproach should serve as a wake-up call for the pollution watchdog and a prompt for the Centre to fix the agency's structural weaknesses.
