The air pollution crisis in the national capital, unsurprisingly, extends to the Commission for Air Quality Management, the all-powerful body set up to mitigate the issue.
Since October last year, the Supreme Court has pulled up the CAQM over a series of shortcomings: lack of committee meetings, absenteeism, wait and watch approach, and the purported lack of intent in prosecuting errant officials. In fact, since its formation in 2020, the CAQM’s efforts have failed to impress the Supreme Court, amid hearings over a stack of petitions on air pollution. Experts have also slammed the centre’s body for not proactively imposing the emergency restrictions in the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
