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Notify plan for ‘health emergency’ in Delhi-NCR: SC(thehindu)



The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the government to urgently notify a graded response action plan to combat a new and heightened level of air pollution called ‘health emergency’ in Delhi and the National Capital Region.

This almost-lethal level of pollution is reached when the air quality worsens beyond the ‘severe’ category. As of now, air pollution is graded from ‘moderate to poor’, ‘very poor’, and lastly, ‘severe’.

A ‘health emergency’ will be declared if the air quality worsens five times the standard. This would invite blanket ban on constructions, entry of trucks and imposition of odd-even scheme in Delhi-NCR.

The new plan was framed after the Supreme Court raised questions about the authorities’ preparedness to combat levels of air pollution when “the entire city will be shut down and human lives are threatened”. A Bench led by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur had on November 9 pointed to how Beijing and Singapore were shut down due to air pollution reaching life-threatening proportions.

The Supreme Court-approved plan, drafted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in consultation with noted environmentalist Sunita Narain, is designed to give real-time information on air quality grade to prevent mass health distress and diseases.

With the CPCB forecasting that the coming winter months would witness “severe and very poor air quality” for Delhi, the response plan, if notified immediately, would play the role of a life-saver.

“Analysis of past air quality trend show that severe and very poor air quality is anticipated throughout the winter from November to February and largely poor category during the summer months of March to May,” a note on the response plan submitted in the apex court said.

The plan urges to kick-start necessary preparations so that the response plan is in place at least four weeks in advance of the “anticipated critical pollution days” ahead.

While the worst category according to air quality index is ‘severe’ at 250 microgram per cubic metre at PM2.5 and 401 microgram per cubic metre at PM10, the “health emergency” grade demands more stringent action.

“The threshold for this category (health emergency) will be 300 microgram per cubic metre for PM2.5 and 500 microgram per cubic metre for PM10, which are five times the standard,” the note said.aaaaaa
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