Delhi air pollution: SC calls for temporary toll closures, schools to remain shut as situation worsens
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to consider shifting or temporarily closing nine toll plazas to ease traffic at Delhi borders. MCD was given one week to decide.
The court refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision to close schools for students from kindergarten to class 5, stating that winter holidays are approaching and the directive to close these schools does not require any change.
“The short-term measures are only intended to provide temporary protection to children and the elderly. These are purely temporary policy decisions. At best, these can be seen as extensions of holidays as schools are already scheduled to remain closed for 10 to 15 days during the winter months,” the Bench said.
On worker welfare, the SC directed the Delhi government to verify construction workers idle due to restrictions and transfer money to their accounts. The court said, “The money transferred to workers’ accounts should not ‘disappear or go to another account'” and added that alternative jobs should be considered for idle workers.
According to the Delhi government, only 7,000 out of 2.5 lakh construction workers have been confirmed to be eligible for direct payments so far.
The bench emphasized that temporary measures such as school closures or mixed classes are temporary solutions and cannot replace long-term planning to reduce pollution in the region. “Let’s think about the pragmatic and practical solution to the threat,” the court said.
