The Supreme Court of India on Friday called for a uniform national policy to combat air pollution, questioning the current approach that often focuses solely on the National Capital Region (NCR).
While hearing a petition challenging the complete ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai made some observations about the right to clean air for all citizens.
Supreme Court On Pollution
During the hearing, CJI Gavai said, "If the cities of NCR have the right to clean air, then why don't the people of other cities?".
"Whatever policy should be there, it should be at the pan-India level. We cannot make policy only for Delhi because they are the elite class of the country," he added.
CJI Gavai shared a personal anecdote to highlight the widespread nature of the issue, stating, "I went to Amritsar last winter and the pollution there was worse than Delhi." He said that any potential ban on firecrackers should be implemented nationwide and not just in a select region. "If firecrackers are to be banned, then there should be a ban in the whole country," he said.
The court was hearing a petition that challenged its order from April 3, 2025, which banned the sale, storage, transportation, and manufacture of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. In response to the plea, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), seeking a reply within two weeks.
During the proceedings, Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh commented on the socio-economic disparity in dealing with pollution, noting, "The elite class takes care of itself. When there is pollution, they move out of Delhi."
NCAP Directs Delhi To Improve Pollution Control Fund
A central panel monitoring the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has directed authorities in Delhi and Noida, which are lagging in utilisation of the pollution control fund, to take immediate corrective measures.
Launched in 2019, NCAP is India's first national initiative to set clean air targets, aiming for a 40% reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, using 2019-20 as the base year.
Data from the Union environment ministry showed that only Rs 9,585 crore (72.4%) of the total Rs 13,236.77 crore allocated to 130 cities since the programme's inception had been utilised as of August 18.
Here's the state-wise data on utilisation of allocated funds:
Noida (Uttar Pradesh): 11.14%
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): 30.51%
Delhi 32.65%
Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh): 41.09%,
Jalandhar (Punjab): 43.51%
Gulbarga (Karnataka): 43.7%
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): 44.12%
Jamshedpur (Jharkhand): 44.24%
The fund utilisation of 12 other cities and urban agglomerations, including Ujjain, Gaya, Sibsagar, Durgapur, Kalinga Nagar, Nalbari, Jalgaon, Faridabad, Nagpur, Ranchi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru remained below 75%.
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