Apex court issues notice to all states, seeks report on air quality

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The Supreme Court today issued notice to all States, seeking a report on air quality, drinking water and garbage disposal.

It also asked the Centre to take a concrete decision within 10 days on having smog towers in Delhi-NCR to combat pollution which has shortened the life span of millions of citizens.

The apex court expressed displeasure at the performance of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to combat pollution and sought to know as to why they should not be asked to compensate people affected by bad air quality.

A bench of justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta termed the stubble burning situation as alarming and said not only the state machinery but farmers were also responsible for it.

The bench also sought a report from the Central Pollution Control Board and the concerned States on steps taken to check pollution in rivers, including Ganga and Yamuna.

The court slammed the Punjab and Haryana governments for increase in stubble burning, despite its order prohibiting it and said people in Delhi cannot be left to die due to air pollution.