Air Pollution: Supreme Court raps Delhi govt over entry of trucks, flags ‘drastic’ consequences of GRAP-4

The Supreme Court flagged the ‘drastic’ consequences of GRAP 4 restrictions in the Delhi-NCR region during a hearing on Friday. The top court also questioned the Delhi government over the entry of trucks in the national capital and suggested fresh measures to combat the air pollution crisis. 

The apex court said it would review the situation next week to determine whether GRAP-4 norms can be relaxed. “It is very difficult for us to assume that entry of trucks in Delhi has been stopped,” the court observed.

The apex court criticized the Delhi government and police for failing to comply with the GRAP Stage IV clauses, noting that there were almost 100 unmanned entry points into the city, and nobody checked the entry of trucks. According to the counsel appearing for the Delhi government, there are 113 entry points, including 13 for trucks.

The Bench led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih has now directed the Delhi government to depute police personnel at all 113 entry points to monitor the entry of trucks. The officials must be briefed about the list of items that can be considered essential commodities.

Officials have also been directed to submit CCTV footage from cameras at 13 entry points to amicus curiae as soon as possible. Thirteen bar lawyers will also visit various entry points to ascertain whether clauses of GRAP stage IV are being implemented at those sites.

The air quality remained in the “very poor” category across Delhi on Friday with an overall AQI of 373. Nine out of 38 monitoring stations in the city reported Air Quality Index readings in the “severe” range.

Authorities in the Delhi-NCR had implemented Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Monday morning as Delhi breached the ‘severe plus’ category and AQI hovered near the 500 mark.

These measures include a complete ban on construction and demolition activities, school closures, and strict vehicular restrictions, such as the prohibition of non-emergency commercial activities and the enforcement of the odd-even scheme for vehicles.

(With inputs from agencies)