Polluted air is mostly coming from Pakistan, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court today during the hearing on pollution in Delhi and nearby cities. That provoked a question from Chief Justice of India NV Ramana that UP's lawyers could not answer.
"Uttar Pradesh is downwind. Air is mostly coming from Pakistan. Whatever is happening is not necessarily in UP," senior lawyer Ranjit Kumar said, representing the UP government.
The Chief Justice said: "So you want the banning of industries in Pakistan?"
The UP government made the comments as it requested the Supreme Court not to impose restrictions on sugar mills and milk industries in the state to curb pollution.
Sugar mills are allowed to run for only eight hours and that is not enough, it argued.
The Supreme Court directed UP to discuss the subject with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
The commission told the Supreme Court in a statement that flying squads would monitor compliance on air pollution measures. Schools and colleges in Delhi and neighbouring areas will stay closed for now.
On industrial pollution, the commission has said that industries not running on cleaner fuels would be allowed to operate only up to eight hours a day during weekdays and would be shut on weekends.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court had given a 24-hour deadline to the Centre and Delhi government to come up with a serious plan for pollution control measures. "In an emergency situation you have to work in emergent ways," the court said.
In a bid to tackle one of the worst sources of air pollution, Delhi has begun testing retrofitting devices that promise to cut harmful emissions from heavy commercial vehicles by more than 70 per cent.
Delhi is gearing up to build one of India's most advanced e-waste processing facilities, and it's taking cues from Norway's cutting-edge model.
The national capital on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 33.6 degrees Celsius, 7.8 notches below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Air Quality Management Commission admitted it has not conducted any research or study on pollution caused by diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years, which form the basis of the overage vehicle ban in Delhi-NCR.
Monsoon Diseases Prevention: Monsoon brings welcome relief but also triggers respiratory health issues like cold, flu, asthma and pneumonia, due to high humidity, mould, dust, air pollution and viral outbreaks.
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