The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has once again cracked the whip on the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The green court, while lifting some of the restrictions it had imposed earlier, has asked these States to prepare and submit an action plan to combat air pollution within two weeks, failing which it would impose “exemplary costs”.

In an order passed on Friday, the NGT said if these States fail to file the action plans within the prescribed time, it would be “compelled to take action, including imposing exemplary costs of ₹5 lakh, which will be recovered from the salary of the concerned senior-most officer.” It also threatenened to slap a fine of ₹5,000 for wrong parking in Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar.

The action plans will look at ways to tackle air pollution in the future and will “automatically come into play the moment the prescribed parameter is touched.”

With Delhi’s air quality improving gradually, the court also lifted the ban imposed by it on construction activities in the city. For the past four days, Delhi’s air quality improved from the earlier “severe” to “very poor” now.

“All other directions in relation to emissions from industries, burning of wastes, burning of crop residue and emissions from vehicles shall, however, continue to be in force on the basis of precautionary principle,” the court said.

The court also stepped in on the issue of parking on the road near the crowded and popular shopping destination of Sarojini Nagar, despite a multi-level parking being available.

The court has directed the New Delhi Municipal Council to ensure that the parking facility is kept functional 24 hours. Further, somewhat uniquely, the court has directed that anyone parking outside designated parking areas — on roads or otherwise — be fined a hefty ₹5,000 as “environmental compensation” besides the traffic challan. On-road parking of vehicles is seen to cause traffic bottlenecks and the resultant congestion is a significant contributor to air pollution as slow-moving traffic leads to higher emissions.

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