Pollution in cities: SC notice to state, GAIL

Pollution in cities: SC notice to state, GAIL
The Times of India

New Delhi: The only way to fight the alarming levels of air pollution in Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kanpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Solapur and Lucknow is to increase the usage of CNG, as it was done in the case of Delhi, recommends the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority in its report to the Supreme Court.
Drawing court’s attention to EPCA recommendations, amicus curiae Harish Salve on Thursday said the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) has not prepared the blueprint for creating a National Gas Grid (NGG) for supply of CNG to these cities, despite court orders.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjawani also suggested that as an earlier court order has not been implemented, notices should also be sent to Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
A Bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia issued notices to GAIL and the guilty states seeking their response to EPCA’s CNG-oriented plan to combat the high respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the air due to vehicular emissions.
The EPCA report was not all that gloomy. “There is a perceptible downward trend and stabilisation of this toxic air pollutant in all cities over the last three years, except Lucknow where the RSPM level in 2005 exceeded that of 2004. However, the city’s programme for CNG-driven buses should help make a transition,’’ it said.
“In Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Pune, the pollution levels are still above the ambient air quality standard. The levels are generally lower in the southern cities of Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad where the local weather conditions also play a role,’’ it states.