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The Supreme Court heard the Delhi pollution case on Friday. During the hearing, the court expressed its displeasure with the Delhi government. The court said that it is difficult to believe the claims of the Delhi government. During the hearing, the court also talked about considering the restrictions imposed under GRAP-4 due to pollution in Delhi.
The court said that on November 25, it will consider whether the GRAP-4 restrictions imposed to control pollution in Delhi-NCR should be relaxed or not. A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed displeasure over the lack of proper implementation of the restrictions imposed under GRAP-4, especially the decision to stop the entry of non-essential trucks into Delhi.
What is GRAP?
The Graded Response Action Plan was first implemented in 2017. It lays down a phased plan to take steps according to the severity of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. Under GRAP, air quality is divided into four stages, which are poor (AQI 201-300), very poor (AQI 301-400), severe (AQI 401-450) and extremely severe (AQI above 450).
Appointment of court commissioner
The court appointed 13 lawyers as court commissioners to investigate the status of ban on trucks at various entry points of Delhi. The Delhi government said that out of 113 entry points, 13 are only for trucks. The Supreme Court directed the Center and Delhi Police to set up check posts at all entry points.
Questions raised on GRAP-4
In the hearing, Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that the pollution level has decreased in two days and the AQI has now come under the GRAP-2 category. On Friday, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 373 very poor. The Supreme Court termed the social and economic impact of GRAP-4 as grave and questioned the Delhi government on the delay and poor implementation of stringent measures.
