Want CP smog tower working, orders top court; Delhi CM seeks suspension of DPCC secy

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the non-functional smog tower in Delhi’s Connaught Place to be made operational immediately, and also summoned the Delhi Pollution Control Committee chairman Ashwani Kumar. The bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “We want this tower to be working,” and added, “We direct the chairperson of DPCC to remain personally present in court on the next date.” The court, while dealing with the issue of air pollution in Delhi, was informed by amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh that the smog tower, inaugurated in August 2021, was not operational for some time. Rai sought his suspension “for not implementing the decision of the council of ministers, arbitrarily stopping payment of ₹2 crore to IIT Kanpur that brought the source apportionment study to a halt and for acting upon unsubstantiated personal opinions thereby putting the health of 20 million residents of Delhi at risk.” DPCC earlier suggested that the smog tower was found to be “largely ineffective” in tackling air pollution. The CM office released a statement on this on Tuesday, which stated, “CM Arvind Kejriwal has recommended immediate suspension of the DPCC chairman Ashwani Kumar to NCCSA, in a move to expedite action on bureaucracy obstructing the government’s efforts to fight rising pollution.” The CM’s recommendation to suspend the DPCC chairman is based on a letter he received from Rai on October 25, in which he had flagged alleged that “deliberate actions” by Kumar disrupted the government’s pollution mitigation efforts.