Delhi air pollution: Supreme Court asks CAQM to consider reopening schools, GRAP IV measures to continue

The Supreme Court on November 25directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider relaxing the restrictions on physical classes of schools, colleges and educational institutions in Delhi-NCR, which were imposed last week due to severe air pollution. 

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih directed the CAQM to consider relaxation on the following grounds, as per a Live Law report. 

• Some students are being deprived of the facility of midday meals as the schools and Anganwadis are closed. 
• Large number of students do not have the facility of electronics for attending online education. 
• Residences of large number of students do not have air purifiers and therefore there may not be a difference between the children sitting at home and children attending the schools. 

The apex court left it to the Commission to decide on the continuation of the ban on conducting physical classes of 10th and 12th standards. The court ordered that a decision be taken by the CAQM in this regard by November 26. 

The court also ordered that GRAP IV restrictions will continue in the national capital until it is satisfied that there is consistent downward trend in AQI. “Unless the court is satisfied that there is a consistent downward trend in AQI, we cannot order to go below stages III or II,” the bench said. 

It slammed the authorities for failing to properly implement measures related to curbs on construction and entry of polluting vehicles into Delhi-NCR. 

The court further warned against violation of orders by enforcement agencies and said the CAQM will soon issue a show-cause notice for the “serious lapse”. 

Deliberating on the issue of sections of society affected by restrictions under the fourth stage of the GRAP – like labourers and daily wage workers involved in construction activity – it said all states must use funds collected as labour cess to provide subsistence to them. 

“We direct all the states to use funds collected as labour cess to provide subsistence to construction workers when such work is prohibited and all states shall comply with the same. Action should be taken immediately,” it observed. 

The air quality in the national capital improved to ‘poor’, according to the latest CPCB data. At 9 am, AQI was recorded at 281 compared to 318 at 4 pm on November 24. However, 15 of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations recorded an AQI in the ‘very poor’ category.