NEW DELHI: “Do you want to wait till people start dying … People are gasping for breath,” a fuming Supreme Court asked Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) today, slamming it for not having an action plan ready to deal with the “emergency” smog situation and asking the Centre to come out with time-bound measures to tackle the graded level of worsening air quality.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur pulled up the apex pollution monitoring body for “sluggish” response on the issue even as Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar blamed the implementing agencies for not being able to do what they were required to do to deal with the situation.
“Do you (CPCB) want to wait till people start dying? The response cannot be sluggish. People are gasping for breath. People are in such a situation and you are waiting,” the bench also comprising Justices A K Sikri and S A Bobde said.
“You must have plans. How will you have spread of stations (to monitor air quality) that will clear the picture? You need to immediately plan as to how many stations will be reasonable, looking into the importance of the situation. You must prepare a plan and tell us,” the bench told CPCB Chairman S P Singh Parihar who was present in the court. (AGENCIES)
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