NGT takes Punjab govt to cleaners for having done nothing for curbing pollution, presenting misleading report

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday came down heavily on the government of Punjab for not doing anything to curb air pollution. NGT heard a couple of pleas related to the deteriorating air quality in New Delhi and other neighbouring cities. “Is there any improvement in any place?”, “Point out one city where (the) situation has improved?” asked NGT. The environmental body added that the report presented by the Punjab Government and satellite images of stubble burning in the state “do not match.” Earlier this week, satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed the extent of air pollution in stretches beyond Delhi. The images, captured by Worldview satellite, show a thick layer of smog covering a long stretch of land between Pakistan and the Bay of Bengal. NGT further said, “What will happen to residents of the cities in Punjab? Cities in Punjab are engulfed in smoke. It rained today. God came to your rescue because God also realised that nothing is being done at your end.” “Maximum number of places in Haryana are affected by the spike in pollution. Look at Fatehabad, it is severe and hasn’t improved since November 3,” it added. Delhi pollution Overnight rain led to a rapid improvement in Delhi’s air quality on Friday morning and cleared the haze that had been lingering for over 10 days. Delhi’s AQI stood at 376 at 9 am, rapidly improving from 408 at 7 am on Friday and 460 at 11 pm on Thursday. The air quality is expected to improve further due to wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants. Light to moderate rainfall also occurred in Noida, Gurugram and other adjoining areas. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier predicted a marginal improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali owing to favourable meteorological conditions, including light rain. IMD officials had also said a change in the wind direction from northwest to southeast due to a fresh western disturbance affecting northwest India will help reduce the contribution of smoke from stubble burning. With inputs from PTI