Right to Pollution Free Air; Petition comes before Supreme Court Tomorrow

Squarely blaming the diesel subsidy policy of the government for promoting the sale of diesel passenger car and thereby aggravating pollution of Indian cities and causing irremediable harm to the society, Dr. Arvind Gupta, the Founder Trustee of Indian Investors Protection Council (IIPC) has knocked on the doors of the Apex Court seeking a direction to the Union Government to discontinue extending subsidized diesel from the Government exchequer to undeserving sections of the society, particularly to the owners of luxury cars, Telecommunication towers of the private sector, Malls, Supermarkets, 5-star hotels, resorts and all other commercial establishments. The PIL is listed for Tomorrow before the Chief Justice’s BenchThe petitioner has attributed the rise in air pollution in Indian cities due to the dieselization of all types of vehicles in India and has averred in his petition that while the short term health effects due to diesel exhaust pollution are headache, nausea, nose congestion, eye irritation etc, long term exposure leads to cardiovascular disease, cardiopulmonary disease and high incidence of lung cancer. “Thus, increasing dieselization without strict emission norms is producing a huge burden of diseases and ailments for the road users and also for those living in the vicinity of roads,” contends the petitioner.Pointing out, on the basis of the findings of National Toxicology Program, Department of Health and Human Services and the report on Carcinogens, (Twelfth Edition, submitted in 2011), that diesel exhaust particles are likely to account for the human lung cancer, the petitioner has also stated that the subsidy extended top diesel is being eaten away by the passenger car and the luxury car segment. Further, according to the petitioner, the car manufacturers are not subjected to emission norms and therefore are causing double jeopardy: eating into subsidies and causing environmental and consequent health damage.The writ petitioner has contended that apart from the economic burden to the exchequer and pecuniary advantage to the diesel engine car manufacturer sector, “this discrimination of extending universal subsidy is leading more importantly to a huge burden on public health on account of high environmental pollution caused by the dieselization of the cars, sectors and also other diesel generator users such as Telecom towers and Malls.”Slamming the government over its lopsided policies, the petitioner avers in his petition that while all over the world, Governments follow diligently ‘Polluter pay principle’ in implementing environmental policies, in India, it has always been the case of ‘Polluter is subsidized principle’, be them diesel car manufacturers/users, Dyers, tanneries and disposable plastic packaging manufacturers, to name a few. “The Government is more concerned with pleasing corporate companies and showing high economic growth as an achievement and means of generating employment by supporting and subsidizing automobile, telecom and other luxury sector. But, the Government policy makers forget in their wisdom that such short sighted policies only encourage private profiteering at the cost of public exchequer and prevent reforming technological and scientific advancement in the respective industries, and thereby result in rapid increase of urban pollution and contribute to sickness and ill health amongst the people.”In the writ petition which has been filed against the Union Government, the Ministries of Environment & Forests and Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Central Pollution Control Board, the petitioner has also sought a direction to the respondents to take adequate steps immediately “to enforce the prescribed emission standards in tune with Euro IV and V on all appropriate parameters such as particulate matter (RSPMs), nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide lead etc. for diesel vehicles / petrol vehicles uniformly throughout the country so as to control and reduce air pollution, to contain the threat to the life of the public at large and to protect the health and wellbeing of citizens to ensure their unbridled Right to Life and ambient air in the country.”The petitioner has charged the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Petroleum and Natural Gas as also the Central Pollution Board of failing to discharge their constitutional duties to preserve and protect the air free from pollution.The petitioner, who is a resident of NCT of Delhi has averred in his petition that he is directly and substantially affected by the runaway pollution which has touched an all time high of 711 µg/m3 i.e. more than 30 times permissible by the WHO, and that he like the other residents of NCT are faced all kinds of respiratory difficulties arising out of this pollution of gargantuan proportions.Invoking the constitutional guarantees under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution the petitioner has claimed that every citizen is entitled to maintenance of the environment, clean air, ecological...

Right to Pollution Free Air; Petition comes before Supreme Court Tomorrow

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