Srinagar Bandh Apada Sangharsh Samiti Anr. V. Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd Ors.
- 2022-02-17
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 1991 SCR (1) 866, 1991 SCC (2) 353
Coram: Misra, Rangnath (Cj)
Facts:
The intervention of the Supreme Court in the air pollution issue in Delhi was prompted by fears that the toxic air in the city was slowly poisoning its people. A widely cited study conducted in Delhi reported that 10000 individuals die every year due to air pollution complications, i.e. one individual every hour.
Alarmed by this unregulated pollution and its health effects on the population of Delhi, Supreme Court lawyer M.C. Mehta filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) lawsuit against the Union of Indi in the Supreme Court , alleging that existing environmental laws required the government, in the interest of public health, to take action to mitigate air pollution in Delhi.
Issue:
The measures to be taken to redress the effects of air pollution in Delhi.
Decision:
The Supreme Court acknowledged, on the basis of the opinion of the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, that the key contributors to the problem of air pollution were heavy vehicles, including trucks, buses and defence vehicles.
The Court ruled in 1996 that all government vehicles in the city should be converted to compressed natural gas (CNG). In 1998, the Court ordered all the buses in the city to be converted to CNG from diesel. Autorickshaws were, subsequently, brought under the same rule.
The Court reaffirmed its commitment to the CNG conversion in a 2002 order and voiced its frustration over the lack of implementation by the Delhi government.
