The court heard arguments on measures implemented by the Delhi government to tackle the situation, from reducing stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, to a proposal to allow motor vehicles only on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their licence plates was odd or even.
The court left the decision of formulating these policies to the government - but last week, it pulled up authorities for not following its instructions to allocate funds for a rapid rail system, calling it a “gross breach of assurances”.
The Supreme Court has often taken the lead in reforms to clean up Delhi’s air - some of its orders include rules on the kind of vehicles that should run in the city; the relocation of thousands of smoke-spewing factories; and the sealing of businesses to reduce emissions.
Shyam Divan, a senior lawyer, has recently wrote that India’s top court plays the role of a “policymaker, lawmaker, public educator and super administrator” all at once.
In its order, the court has also waded into smaller details such as what type of vehicles should ply in Delhi - for instance, it froze the licences of tuk-tuk drivers for more than a decade.
PN Bhagwati, a former chief justice who heard the pollution cases and was instrumental in expanding the court’s role into policy-making, once said that “judicial activism” was “inevitable”.
The original article contains 1,075 words, the summary contains 231 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The court heard arguments on measures implemented by the Delhi government to tackle the situation, from reducing stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, to a proposal to allow motor vehicles only on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their licence plates was odd or even.
The court left the decision of formulating these policies to the government - but last week, it pulled up authorities for not following its instructions to allocate funds for a rapid rail system, calling it a “gross breach of assurances”.
The Supreme Court has often taken the lead in reforms to clean up Delhi’s air - some of its orders include rules on the kind of vehicles that should run in the city; the relocation of thousands of smoke-spewing factories; and the sealing of businesses to reduce emissions.
Shyam Divan, a senior lawyer, has recently wrote that India’s top court plays the role of a “policymaker, lawmaker, public educator and super administrator” all at once.
In its order, the court has also waded into smaller details such as what type of vehicles should ply in Delhi - for instance, it froze the licences of tuk-tuk drivers for more than a decade.
PN Bhagwati, a former chief justice who heard the pollution cases and was instrumental in expanding the court’s role into policy-making, once said that “judicial activism” was “inevitable”.
The original article contains 1,075 words, the summary contains 231 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!