The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to relax emergency measures under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to deal with air pollution in the national capital, ordering it to continue till December 2.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said the second report submitted by the court commissioners showed an "abject failure" of authorities in implementing the GRAP IV curbs in letter and spirit.
Also read: Air pollution claims 1.5 million lives annually, says study
"We make it clear that all GRAP IV measures except the measures which are modified in respect of the schools will continue to operate till Monday. In the meantime, the Commission for Air Quality Management will hold a meeting and come out with the suggestion about moving from GRAP IV to GRAP III or GRAP II. We also make it clear that not all measures which are provided in GRAP IV need to be dispensed with," the bench said.
Action against officials for a "serious lapse" in ensuring the GRAP-IV curbs needed to be expedited, it added.
The bench took note of a media report related to Punjab wherein a land record officer and president of the Sangrur Block Patwari Union, openly admitted to advising farmers to burn stubble after 4 PM to avoid satellite detection.
"We are not on the correctness of this news but if it is correct it is very serious. The (Punjab) state officials cannot permit any farmer to take advantage of the fact that at present activities are being detected that take place during a few hours of the day. The Punjab government should immediately issue instructions to all officers not to indulge in any such activities," the bench said.
GRAP-4 restrictions specifically relate to restricting entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods into the national capital.
First implemented in 2017, the GRAP was a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.
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