Ultimately, the weather gods had to step in to rescue Delhi from choking to death. They sent a sprinkling of rain to disperse the smog that has been smothering the city while Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) bickered with the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Delhi liquor scam, ED, CBI and other irritants.
Even the Supreme Court was moved to deliver a rap on the knuckles as pollution levels soared. "This can’t be a political battle all the time,’’ exclaimed Justice Sanjay Kaul during a hearing on Delhi’s polluted air. "This is a complete murder of the health of people.’’
For the time being, the Court has ordered a complete ban on crop burning across North India, said to be a major factor behind the annual November spike in Delhi’s pollution, and put the onus for implementation on Station House Officers (SHOs). The judges said a long-term action plan could follow later.
It remains to be seen whether an order of this nature can be enforced on the ground. There is little to no monitoring mechanism for micro scrutiny at the level of police stations in village clusters.