Centre forms task force, deploys squads to curb air pollution

New Delhi: The government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that it has set up a task force and deployed checking squads as part of efforts to reduce air pollution in Delhi-NCR. This follows the top court's 24-hour ultimatum to the central government to take "real action" on curbing air pollution.

A special bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had told the government that the court would set up its own "task force" to deal with the problem if the government failed to do so.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench on Friday that the government has set up an emergency task force and several 'flying squads' to crack down on polluting units in the region. The five-member task force will have preventive and punitive powers.


Of late, the central government and governments of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana have taken steps to curb air pollution but they haven't made a substantial difference.

The central government, on the recommendation of the air quality management commission, enforced work-from-home (WFH) for all government employees, except those in essential services.

Essential services workers have been encouraged to pool vehicles to check vehicular pollution while the private sector has been urged to encourage WFH.

Besides, the government has banned all construction activities, except projects of national importance such as highways, railways and metro.

Industrial units have been asked to shift to cleaner fuels and thermal plants have been shut. Those not using clean fuels have been asked to restrict their work to eight hours and stay shut on weekends.

The UP government, through senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, objected to the restricting of work hours for industries. It would affect industries in Uttar Pradesh, he said. At one point, he said the winds which bring smog to Delhi-NCR were not coming from UP but from Pakistan, prompting the CJI to ask if he wanted the court to shut down industries there.

The commission has also banned non-essential vehicles from entering Delhi, for the time being.

All these will have to be implemented. The central government's new task force and its 'flying squads' will implement these decisions. The flying squads will report to the task force.

The top court allowed the government to go ahead with its work through the task force for the time being and listed the case for further hearing next Friday.