SC raps CAQM's 'failure', tells it to identify sources of bad air

The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) inability to clearly identify the causes of air pollution in Delhi-NCR and their relative contribution as a "complete failure of duty", directing the statutory body to complete a source-identification and apportionment exercise within two weeks and place the findings in the public domain.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi rejected CAQM's plea for two months' time to examine issues relating to traffic congestion and the collection and utilisation of environmental compensation charge (ECC), making it clear that the court would monitor the matter every fortnight regardless of prevailing air quality levels.