NEW DELHI, India— Living in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right, India’s Supreme Court said Wednesday as it urged authorities to address deteriorating air quality in the north of the country.
India’s capital, Delhi, recorded a “very poor” air quality index of 364 on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, which considers readings below 50 to be good. Swiss group IQAir rated Delhi the world’s most polluted city in its live rankings.
The city battles toxic air every winter, and authorities say much of the smoke comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear their fields in the neighboring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.
The Supreme Court pulled up the governments of both states for taking “selective action” against stubble burning, saying penal provisions were not being properly implemented.
“These are not the matters only of implementing the existing laws; these are the matters of blatant violation of fundamental rights … the governments will have to address … how they are going to protect the right of citizens to live with dignity,” the court said.
It directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government to investigate a proposal submitted by Punjab seeking extra funds to provide tractors and diesel to farmers with land holdings of “less than 10 acres.”
Delhi is enveloped by a hazy, toxic blanket as temperatures drop each year and cold, heavy air traps vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke.
The top court has taken up the matter on several previous occasions, but experts say its directives have not been properly implemented on the ground.
Recognizing this, the court on Wednesday directed the federal government and the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the western state of Rajasthan to submit compliance reports.
Lives of citizens in several parts of South Asia are disrupted by air pollution every winter, and a study has found that toxic air can cut life expectancy by more than five years.
In Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab, authorities have changed school timings and suspended outdoor activities because of pollution.
IQAir rated the provincial capital, Lahore, the world’s second-most polluted city on Wednesday.
“All these steps are being taken to protect children from smog,” said Marriyam Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Pakistan’s Punjab.
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