The Supreme Court on Thursday took exception to the concerned authorities in implementing the measures to curb the air pollution in Delhi and said that Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-IV) measures will continue to operate till Monday.
The top court today pronounced order and said that all GRAP IV measures except the measures which are modified in respect of the schools will continue to operate till Monday.
"In the meantime the commission will hold a meeting and come out with the suggestion about moving from GRAP IV to GRAP III or GRAP II. We also make it clear that it is not necessary that all measures which are provided in GRAP IV should be dispensed with. There can be a combination of measures in GRAP III and GRAP II," the top court said.
The top court today observed that the report by court appointed commissioners indicates abject failure of various authorities to implement GRAP IV measures in its letter and spirit. The court said that there were violations of GRAP-IV measures in both the reports prepared by court appointed commissioners.
The top court while listing the case for next Monday said that it expects all NCR states to make a statement before it about the action they propose to take in case of breaches which are specifically pointed out by the commissioners.
The court also said that the immediate issue which needs to be addressed is that the trucks are allowed to enter the limits of Delhi and then after travelling some distance they are taking a u-turn back to from where they have arrived.
In this regard the court accepted the suggestion made by the court commissioners that the Transport department of Delhi government will appoint a Nodal Officer for the purposes of facilitating the work by the court commissioners.
"We clarify that as far a stage-4 of GRAP is concerned, the ban on entry of truck traffic into Delhi except the following categories will continue: 1) Trucks carrying essential commodities; 2) Trucks providing essential services; 3) All LNG, CNG, electric, BSVI diesel trucks," the top court said.
There is no other exception admissible under clause 1 of stage 4, the top court clarified.
The apex court added that if any authority has issued any instruction which runs contrary to above, the same will not bind the police and other staff posted at the entry points.
A report by Supreme Court-appointed court commissioners today flagged construction work being carried out at residences of several government officials despite a ban under anti-pollution measures in place in Delhi.
The report highlights glaring lapses in implementation of stage 4 of the GRAP.
The court also went through the ISRO data on farm fires. Justice Abhay Oka further remarked that it is clear that both the states are very slow in taking action against the farmers.