The Supreme Court on Friday said that air pollution cannot be addressed through short-term or stopgap measures and requires sustained planning. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed that lasting improvement in air quality would need long-term policy action rather than temporary responses, news agency ANI reported.
The court was hearing petitions raising concerns over the impact of pollution on children and questioning recent steps taken by the Delhi government, including the closure of schools and the shift to hybrid classes. The Bench noted that these decisions were taken as immediate measures to reduce health risks.
Refusing to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision, the court said the steps were interim in nature. It observed that schools are usually closed for 10 to 15 days during the winter and that the current move could be seen as an extension of the scheduled break.
The court added that while such measures may offer temporary relief to children and the elderly, they do not address the root causes of pollution.
“The short-term measures are only to provide temporary protection to children and elderly persons. These are purely interim policy decisions. At best, they can be viewed as an extension of vacations, as schools are anyway scheduled to remain closed for 10 to 15 days during the winter,” the Court observed.
