The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Union government to frame a national policy to phase out heavy-­duty diesel vehicles like trucks and trailers, and replace them with BS­-VI vehicles that use cleaner fuel, underlining people living in all parts of the country and not only those living in the Delhi-NCR (national capital region) are entitled to breathe clean air and a pollution-free environment.

Deciding to monitor the government’s steps regarding the proposed policy, a bench of justices AS Oka and Pankaj Mithal remained emphatic that air pollution directly affects the fundamental rights of all the citizens, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, and that the enforcement of this right is not confined to the people living in Delhi-NCR.

“The right to life guaranteed under Article 21 includes the right to live in a pollution-­free environment. The issue of air pollution is of a great deal of importance to every citizen. Air pollution affects citizens’ quality of life. It adversely affects health,” held the bench, fixing the next hearing on July 31 for reporting of the compliance by the Union ministry of transport and highways.

Also Read | Stop ‘seize and scrap’ of parked old vehicles: Delhi transport minister to dept

It further said that the process of exploring the possibility of finding better sources, including CNG/hybrid/electric, for use of heavy-­duty vehicles ought to continue.

“We propose to grant the ministry of road transport and highways six months to come out with a policy on the replacement of heavy-­duty diesel vehicles with BS­-VI vehicles. While we do so, we make it clear that with ever­-advancing technology, constant endeavour to explore the availability of other fuel resources that could be used for heavy-­duty vehicles should always continue,” stated the court in its order.

The court was dealing with a petition relating to the pollution caused by an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Delhi due to a huge inflow of trucks and trailers that were not even destined for the national capital. ICDs are temporary storage facilities for import and export-related goods. Shipping companies store their containers in ICDs before and after transporting them through ports, so ICDs must be well connected with ports through rail and road.

By an order in March 2019, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to ensure that, in a phased manner, diesel vehicles stop visiting the ICD at Delhi and shift to electric, hybrid or CNG vehicles. The tribunal also proposed an alternative that the diesel vehicles meant to park at the Delhi ICD may be diverted to ICDs in nearby states.

This, the top court on Thursday, found unacceptable, noting the NGT’s opinion connoted as if only the people living in the Delhi-NCR alone are entitled to pollution free atmosphere and not those living in other parts of the country.

“Such an observation by the NGT is in complete ignorance of the fact that citizens living in other parts of the country, other than Delhi-NCR, also have a fundamental right to a pollution-free environment as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Such a fundamental right is equally enforceable by all and is not confined to the people of Delhi-NCR,” it said.

Also Read | Share of cars in EV sales goes up in Delhi, shows data

The bench added that the NGT, in its endeavour to safeguard the fundamental right of the people of Delhi-NCR, cannot allow infringement of the same fundamental right of the citizens living elsewhere. “The observation of the NGT is totally unjustified and unwarranted,” it maintained.

The Supreme Court, in a public interest litigation instituted by environmentalist MC Mehta in 1984, has been monitoring the steps taken by various authorities to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR in what has become an annual public health crisis when the region remains in the grip of hazardous pollution for almost two months starting November.

In its judgment on Thursday, the court further directed CONCOR to formulate a plan for the optimal utilisation of the inland container depots garlanding Delhi within six months, besides coordinating with all the official agencies to enable the setting up of central laboratories near ICDs around Delhi-NCR, so that so that the infrastructure in other ICDs around Delhi does not remain under-utilised by exporters and importers.

In issuing the directives, the court relied on a report by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) – an expert panel that assisted the Supreme Court on matters of pollution relating to Delhi-NCR that was replaced in 2020 with the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining areas. EPCA, in its report, recommended using BS-­VI heavy-­duty diesel vehicles as they are substantially cleaner than the BS­-IV vehicles.