SC to hear PIL seeking guidelines on farm fires to curb pollution on November 10, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

NEW DELHI: As the national capital has virtually turned into a gas chamber with pollution levels rising to alarming level, a PIL has been filed in the apex court seeking its immediate intervention and the court agreed to hear the plea on November 10.

Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, who filed the PIL, pleaded urgent intervention by the apex in the crisis and a bench of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi agreed to hear the case seeking fresh guidelines on stubble burning to curb rising air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The lawyer alleged that the problem of pollution arises every year and there is a serious threat to life and liberty due to the smog in Delhi-NCR and sought appointment of a “high-level committee” under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court judge to tackle the air-pollution crisis due to stubble burning.

“Issue an order or guidelines to each and every state to take necessary measures in order to reduce the pollution including installation of smog-towers, plantation drive, affordable public transport,” said the petition.

It also sought a direction to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to personally make them accountable for stubble-burning anywhere in their states.