New Delhi:
GRAP-IV – the fourth (and, on paper, the strictest) stage of anti-pollution measures to combat the toxic air that smothers Delhi every winter – will remain in force till Monday (December 2), the Supreme Court said Thursday evening. An exception, though, was made for schools, which must switch to a fully online mode under GRAP-IV, but can now continue a hybrid model given learning difficulties for students without (or with limited) access to the internet, the court said.
Lack of enforcement of GRAP-IV was the subject of the hearing today, a hearing in which an increasingly frustrated top court has asked tough questions of central and state authorities.
Among the points red-flagged today, the bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih reacted strongly to reports cement is being smuggled inside bags containing wheat flour.
This is despite a ban on construction (except those related to public infrastructure projects) under GRAP-IV, and another on trucks and commercial vehicles ferrying non-essential goods into the city. These are meant to be identified and stopped at checkpoints on the Delhi border.
An irate court also underlined its displeasure over the Delhi Transport Department’s failure to stop trucks carrying non-essential goods, or offering similarly non-critical services, into the city.
There can be no exceptions, the court thundered after senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparajita Singh said “… they are getting cement under wheat flour… which is an essential commodity (but) there is cement under the wheat flour. These are the kind of things happening.”
