The Supreme Court has observed that it is “dust, heavy vehicular traffic and industries,” that are the big cause of pollution in Delhi. The Centre told the court that pollution can be kept to manageable levels with measures such as “an odd-even scheme for vehicular movement and a ban on the entry of trucks into the capital.” If those do not work, then a lockdown may be considered.

A special Bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, and Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant, was hearing a plea by 17-year-old Delhi student Aditya Dubey concerning rising levels of air pollution in the Capital, reported Bar and Bench. The Central government’s suggestions came in response to the Bench’s assertion that urgent  measures were required to reduce pollution levels.

According to Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, stubble burning was not the major cause of pollution and was only contributing to just about 10%. He said, “Dust control measures be taken at the construction site. We have suggested that diesel generating sets be stopped unless needed like in hospitals. Advise people with respiratory issues to avoid venturing out. Fines for ones indulging in garbage burning.” According to the news report, Justice Kant asked, “Are you agreeing in principle that stubble burning is not the major cause and has no scientific basis? Why not apply ban on entry of all vehicles to and from Delhi?” 

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh had submitted that the Centre’s affidavit showed an increase in stubble and paddy burning in Punjab and Haryana, to which the CJI responded,  “You want farmers to be blamed or what?” The SC has asked the executive committee to create and decide how an action plan can be implemented by Tuesday evening, CJI Ramana was quoted saying,“Please decide which industries can be stopped, which vehicles can be prevented from plying and which power plants can be stopped and how you can provide alternative power by then.”

The SC pulled up the Delhi government for “lame excuses” and “passing the buck”, reported NDTV. The SC insisting on urgent measures rather than long-term goals, the Supreme Court said the capital’s air pollution was a “crisis”.

In an affidavit filed before the hearing, the Delhi government told the court that it was ready to “implement a complete lockdown to fight air pollution though it will have a limited effect”. However, similar restrictions will be needed for the neighbouring areas of Delhi too, as they are a part of the National Capital Region (NCR), it said. Delhi government’s advocate Rahul Mehra, said that a “lockdown may be imposed but due to lack of air boundaries, the entire NCR would need to be locked down as a whole.” So far, the Delhi government has ordered that schools be shut and only online classes are held this week, all government officials have been told to work from home, the same advice has been given to private offices. Construction work has been suspended for three days.

The SC has directed the Centre and Air Quality Monitoring Commission to meet with Chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and UP. According to the news report, CJI Ramana said, “We direct the Centre to have an emergency meeting tomorrow and take into account points cited by us. We direct the Centre and States of NCR region to impose work from home for the meantime.” The next hearing is on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) stands at a staggering 330, still in the ‘very poor’ category. But a little better than the 471 AQI of Friday.

It was on Sunday, a day before the SC hearing, that Delhi Government announced that all schools be shut and its offices, corporations, autonomous agencies to remain closed till November 17th; only essential services like health, power, police, PWD, DPCC, district administration and others were exempted. These decisions were taken after an Emergency Meeting on pollution. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired the emergency meeting with cabinet ministers and officials at the Delhi Secretariat. The meeting reiterated that “Delhi is suffering from two kinds of pollution – One, which is Delhi’s own, i.e., sourced from within Delhi like vehicular emissions, construction site fumes, waste burning, etc. And two, the incoming pollution as a result of stubble burning from other states.”

The Environment Department issued orders under the Environment Protection Act of 1986. Schools, colleges, skill development centres, educational institutions will remain closed till November 20.    

Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai had also held a meeting with the concerned departments on November 9, which decided that “an anti open burning campaign will be run from November 11 to December 11 to reduce the pollution inside Delhi. Apart from this, the concerned departments have been directed to shut down diesel gensets and coal kilns in Delhi, increase parking fees, increase the frequency of metro and bus and provide heaters to guards from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs). The second phase of the Anti Dust Campaign is being run from November 12 to December 12 in Delhi.” The Delhi government has also claimed that by November 20, it will “complete the work of spraying bio-decomposer solution for stubble decomposition in 4,000 acres of fields.”

Copy will be updated with the order.

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Delhi Government has extended the ongoing lockdown till May 3, as the Covid-19 surge continues to ravage the National Capital, which has one of the highest rates of infection, and has often been reporting shortage of oxygen supplies, even in hospitals, and general shortage of hospital beds for critically ill Covid-19 patients.

On Sunday, Delhi recorded over 22,933 new Covid-19 cases and over 350 deaths. The infection rate in Delhi stated to be over 30 per cent and there are over 94,592 active cases here. According to the Delhi government’s health department, Covid-19 has claimed over 14,248 lives in Delhi till now and the case fatality rate (CFR) is now at 1.39 per cent.

On Monday, the Delhi government announced that the vaccine will be administered free of cost to all residents of Delhi, who are over 18 years of age. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the government has approved the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines on Monday. He asked the manufacturers “to bring down the price to ₹ 150/dose” telling them that they have “an entire lifetime to earn profits but this is a time to show humanity.” He has also appealed to the Central government to cap the price of vaccines if needed.

दुनिया के कई देशों के अनुभवों से पता चलता है कि कोरोना से छुटकारा पाने में वैक्सीन एक प्रभावी हथियार है। दिल्ली में 18 साल से ज़्यादा उम्र के सभी लोगों को आने वाले दिनों में सरकार मुफ़्त वैक्सीन लगाएगी। pic.twitter.com/5kEVddPOQ5

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 26, 2021

After days of distress in the city where scores of Covid-19 patients have been running from one hospital to another, and have not been able to secure admission and access to lifesaving oxygen there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. The Radha Soami Satsang Beas has now opened its 150 Oxygen bed facility, and according to the CM this will be  there which will expand to 500 beds in the next few days and eventually 2,000 beds. It will also have 200 ICU beds.

While Kejriwal and team have visited and announced the opening the fact is that the Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre is run by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Union home ministry issued orders to re-operationalise the facility that was first opened in 2020 during the initial Covid-19 surge. It is in Chhatarpur, Delhi but there is a strict SOP for admission of patients. All patients to be referred by District Surveillance Officers (DSOs), no walk in admissions will be entertained.

Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre run by @ITBP_official at Radha Soami Beas, Chhatarpur, Delhi open from today. SOP for admission of patients & protocols will be adhered to. Patients to be referred by Dist. Surveillance Officers of respective Delhi Districts. No walk in admissions pic.twitter.com/tNiDMtqskf

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) April 26, 2021

The ITBP, has stated that treatment at this centre will be free of cost. Patients have begun to arrive and are being admitted after preliminary check-up conducted by ITBP doctors and paramedical staff. The helpline numbers of SPCCC are: 011-2665 5547/48/49 and 011-2665 5949/69. According to reports, a team of 50 ITBP and other organisations’ doctors, about 80 paramedics and nursing staff, security personnel of ITBP and other administrative staff are running the centre which was shut in February this year as Covid-19 cases were not rising in the national capital then.

Free vaccines in Delhi?   

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement of a free vaccine may be something that helps if all goes according to plan. However, the CM has also flagged the discrepancies in the price of the vaccine. “Different vaccine manufacturers have priced the vaccine at 400/- and 600/- rupees for state governments and at 150/- rupees for the central government. I believe that the price should be the same for everyone. I was watching the interview of one of the manufacturers who told the said interviewer that vaccination companies are profiting even at the 150/- rate at which they are providing the vaccine to the central government. If that is the case, then at 400/- and 600/- their profit margins must be huge,” said Kejriwal. He has said that the central government should cap the rate of the vaccine if needed to ensure it is made available at standardized rates to everyone.

According to news reports, the Delhi government’s health and family welfare department has issued an order signed by special secretary Udit Prakash Rai, the department asked DANICS officers posted at Delhi hospitals to physically visit the hospitals allotted to them and be in touch with the management to understand the problems over oxygen availability. The officers are told to be “the first point of contact in the allotted hospitals for oxygen requirement-related issues and to be constantly updated about the status of oxygen availability at each hospital.”

Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Monday asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government to set up more Covid-19 testing centres in view of the rise in cases. A bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh also asked the Delhi government to put in place necessary infrastructure to streamline the sample collection process, stated news reports. These directions were issued by the HC after several lawyers reportedly told the bench that they were facing difficulty in getting tested as labs were saying they will carry out sample collection after two to three days.

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Utter chaos that has been unleashed on Delhi, as uniformed policemen have begun patrolling the streets. 
The Delhi Police, which gets its orders from the Union Home Ministry (MHA) seems to have gained more muscle after the strict nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night.

The Prime Minister’s address was mid way when thousands rushed out of home towards shops and pharmacies in panic to buy whatever stocks they could. Many shops across the city were crowded by hundreds of people, mosty without any protective masks. Social distancing was not even a thought. 
This went on till late into the night. 

However, things got worse on Wednesday when the chaos on deserted Delhi streets took on a strange form. There were no crowds but area policemen did not let people  go out even for legitimate pressing needs. Most of these people had stayed put and not rushed out in the morning, but waited for things to settle and hoped the government systems would be in place the next day.

Vendors and delivery persons were beaten according to many reports. Ordinary citizens stepping out to buy groceries, milk and medicines were also hounded by the authorities. 

According to Delhi Minorities Commission Chairman Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, he’s received many reports of such cases. He has been one of the first official, and eminent citizens to write to the Commissioner of Police Delhi and seek answers. 

“Although essential supplies are allowed, grocery shops, milk supplies, chemists, hospitals etc are allowed to open and people are allowed to go out for essential needs with a self-declaration, but your personnel on the streets are not allowing people to leave their homes. This is inhuman and will soon lead to riots on the streets of Delhi because people must survive and for this they must get essential food and medicine supplies in time,” stated Dr Khan. 

He has asked the police commissioner to instruct the ground force deployed on the streets and at the various check-posts in the city, “to be humane and allow people to do what has been permitted under law.” 

He has also asked the commissioner to tell the force to allow vendors of vegetables, fruits and milk suppliers to move freely.

The chairman pointed out that many people were also stranded in the city. The worst affected have been the migrant workers, many of whom have found themselves homeless now.  Reports of those left to fend for themselves in various parts of the city have been circulating on television news, and on social media. Most of these are migrant labourers fromUttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar, who cannot even return home because the borders are sealed and they have no public transportation, or identity documents. 

These labourers do not have any place to stay in the city, or access to food. The DMC chairman has asked that these people must be allowed to return to their villages. He writes that they, “must be allowed/helped to go out with dignity. If not, you must provide them with shelter and announce them adequately.”

That the police have been stopping people from going to buy essentials, and scaring vendors into shutting shop and fleeing, has especially affected the areas which are home to lower income groups. Even worse affected are those who are yet to recover from the violent February 2020 pogrom, they barely managed to escape death but lost all their belongings,livelihoods and their homes. 

According to a volunteer helping in the relief work in a riot affected areas of North-east Delhi, the police are beating up vendors, stopping relief workers from delivering food even to the riot survivors who are not taking shelter in safe houses. 

Some volunteers have wasted an entire day running pillar to post to get curfew passes. “The police do not have clear instructions, nor do they have much information. We are looking at very scary day’s ahead if things are not sorted in a day or two,” she said, even as she rushed to the local police station to get her two wheeler released. She was on her way to get a curfew pass when she was stopped and her vehicle impounded. “I need my scooty, and a pass to restart distributing relief material tomorrow onwards.” 

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