Pollution-free environment a 'fundamental right', India's top court says

Living in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right, India's Supreme Court said on Wednesday as it urged authorities to address deteriorating air quality in the north of the country.

India's capital Delhi recorded a "very poor" air quality index of 364 on the same day, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, which considers readings below 50 to be good. Swiss group IQAir rated Delhi the world's most polluted city in its live rankings.

A view of Humayun's Tomb amidst the morning smog, in New Delhi, India October 22, 2024.Reuters

The city battles toxic air every winter and authorities say much of the smoke comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear their fields in the neighboring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.

Supreme Court steps in

The Supreme Court pulled up the governments of both states for taking "selective action" against stubble burning, saying penal provisions were not being properly implemented.

"These are not the matters only of implementing the existing laws, these are the matters of blatant violation of fundamental rights...the governments will have to address...how they are going to protect the right of citizens to live with dignity," the court said.

It directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's federal government to look into a proposal submitted by Punjab seeking extra funds to provide tractors and diesel to farmers with land holdings of "less than 10 acres".

A farmer walks next to burning stubble in a rice field at a village in Karnal in the northern state of Haryana, India, October 21, 2024.Reuters

Delhi is enveloped by a hazy, toxic blanket as temperatures drop each year and cold, heavy air traps vehicle emissions, construction dust, and smoke.

The top court has taken up the matter on several previous occasions but experts say its directives have not been properly implemented on the ground.

Recognizing this, the court on Wednesday directed the federal government and the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the western state of Rajasthan to submit compliance reports.

Poison air

Lives of citizens in several parts of South Asia are disrupted by air pollution every winter and a study has found that toxic air can cut life expectancy by more than five years.

In Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab, whose chief minister earlier urged "climate diplomacy" with India to combat smog, authorities have changed school timings and suspended outdoor activities because of pollution.

IQAir rated provincial capital Lahore the world's second most polluted city on Wednesday.

"All these steps are being taken to protect children from smog," said Marriyam Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Pakistan's Punjab.