Delhi Pollution Crisis: Supreme Court Pulls Up Watchdog CAQM on Toll Plaza Congestion Issue, Says ‘Failing in Its Duty’

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sharply criticised India’s central air pollution watchdog, saying it was “failing in its duty” after it sought a two-month adjournment on the issue of temporarily closing or relocating

toll plazas at Delhi’s borders to ease traffic congestion and curb pollution.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) to convene a meeting of experts in two weeks and submit a report on major causes of the worsening pollution."Have you been able to identify the causes of pollution? During all these days, a lot of material is coming in public domain, experts are writing articles, people are having opinions, they keep on sending to us on mail..."Heavy vehicles are contributing a large part, so the first question is how do we address that... By holding a meeting on January 2 and telling us that we will come after two months, that is not acceptable to us. The CAQM is failing in its duty," the bench observed, as quoted by PTI.

The top court directed the CAQM to start considering long-term solutions in a phased manner and also consider the toll plaza issue, uninfluenced by the stand taken by various stakeholders.Earlier, taking note of severe air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court had directed the National Highways Authority of India and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to consider either temporarily closing or relocating nine toll plazas at the entry points of the national capital. The aim was to reduce massive traffic congestion and vehicular emissions at the borders.

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The court specifically asked the MCD to take a decision within one week on whether the toll plazas could be shut temporarily to facilitate smoother traffic flow. It stressed that existing measures must be effectively implemented instead of merely framing protocols that are not followed on the ground.The bench, however, declined to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision to close schools for students from nursery to Class 5, noting that the winter break was already approaching and no further changes were required.The court also addressed the impact of pollution-related curbs on livelihoods. It directed the Delhi government to urgently verify construction workers affected by restrictions and ensure that financial assistance is transferred directly into their bank accounts. Officials informed the court that about 7,000 workers had been verified so far out of nearly 2.5 lakh registered construction workers.Cautioning against leakages, the bench said the money should reach the intended beneficiaries and asked the government to consider providing alternative work to those left idle due to pollution curbs.Observing that air pollution has become a recurring winter phenomenon, the court asked the CAQM and NCR governments to revisit and strengthen long-term strategies, including urban mobility, traffic management and measures to prevent stubble burning.