SC extends Grap-4 until Monday; Delhi’s air will turn ‘severe’ again later in the day | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to relax the strict measures in place under Grap phase 4 even as Delhi’s air quality improved slightly from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ in the last two days. The curbs will remain in place until at least Monday, the court said, Amit Anand Choudhary reports.
SC’s decision proved prescient as the city’s AQI returned to the ‘severe’ zone in the evening. At 4 p.m., when the 24-hour daily average is determined, the AQI was still ‘very poor’ at 393, having deteriorated from the previous day’s average of 371. However, at 6 p.m. the AQI was again severe , at 401.
A bench of Justices AS Oka and Augustinus George Masih expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation of the ban on entry of trucks into the city imposed under Grap-4 and appointed 13 young lawyers as court commissioners to visit the entry points and conduct a to submit a report. There are approximately 113 entry points for heavy vehicles to enter the city, 13 of which are major. “We are not satisfied with the affidavit of the Delhi government,” the bench said.
It directed the Delhi government and the Delhi Police to ensure that check posts are immediately set up at all 113 entry points and that personnel manning the entry points are clearly informed about the accepted essential items whose entry would be allowed. It directed the police to facilitate the visit of court commissioners to the locations and also share CCTV footage with them.
“As far as the import of trucks is concerned, there is no implementation. One hundred access points are unmanned. There is no implementation of the fireworks ban, construction is taking place… nothing is being carried out. Someone has to be accountable. The percentage share of pollution caused by these trucks is very high,” the bank said. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for CAQM, urged the court to allow relaxation of the Grap-4 measures.
“Please allow us to reduce it to at least Grap-3. Yesterday and today we reached the Grap-2 phase,” she said on the couch. Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing on behalf of some parents, also urged allowing physical classes in schools and said closing schools affected working parents and also children with special needs.
The court agreed with her plea and said the consequences of Grap-4 were very drastic and affected various sections of the society. The court assured on Monday that it would investigate whether the decision should be revised.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as amicus, requested the court to appoint a committee of retired SC judges to monitor and suggest measures to address the pollution crisis in Delhi, which has become an annual affair to grab. Bhati strongly opposed the proposal and said, “We are strongly against this. Please do not create any more levels. No judicial application of the mind is required. Your gentlemen are already keeping an eye on it.