Diwali gifts are adding to Delhi’s pollution, says CJI Surya Kant, calls for 'cultural change'
PTC Web Desk: The Supreme Court on Friday said the habit of exchanging Diwali gifts is adding to vehicular pollution in Delhi, as the capital kept gasping under toxic air. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said a “cultural shift” is needed to deal with the yearly pollution crisis.
According to the CJI, wealthy people have turned gift-giving during Diwali into a status symbol. He said people need to think about what their original culture really stands for and act accordingly.
The remarks came on a day when Delhi’s air quality was just short of the “severe” category. The Central Pollution Control Board put the city’s average AQI at 389, though several areas crossed the 400 mark.
Markets across Delhi have been packed in recent days as people shop ahead of Diwali on November 8. In north India especially, giving gifts during the festival is a long-standing tradition and that is the practice the CJI pointed to.
Vehicles from outside a bigger worry
The CJI said the problem is not only the number of vehicles in Delhi. Vehicles from across the country keep entering the city, which makes it nearly impossible to track their condition or emissions. Even a two-hour stay, he said, is enough to cause damage.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the court that monitoring is being tightened. She said Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was already in force, with steps such as water sprinkling and tougher checks at the borders. She added that Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates were now geotagged to the spot where the test was done and that action was being taken against visibly polluting vehicles.
The CJI, however, said what matters was not how many vehicles there were, but how long they stayed on the road.
During the hearing, one lawyer suggested that the practice of exchanging Diwali gifts may have to be stopped to curb vehicular pollution. The CJI said this was exactly the kind of cultural change people needed to accept.
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