Air Pollution: You want to ban industries in Pakistan? Court asks UP govt

New Delhi, Dec 3: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday told the Supreme Court that polluted air from Pakistan was affecting the air quality of Delhi and the industries in the state (UP) was not having any impact on the national capital's air pollution.

The closure of industries may affect sugarcane and milk industries in the State and UP is in the downward wind, the air is mostly coming from Pakistan, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the UP government, informed the Supreme Court.

To this, CJI NV Ramana responded, "So you want us to ban industries in Pakistan?" The advocate informed the court that sugarcane and milk industries in Uttar Pradesh are affected by the eight-hour time restriction.

A day after the Supreme Court gave a 24-hour deadline to come up with "serious" plans to tackle air pollution, The Commission for Air Quality Management constituted an enforcement task force to look into the issue.

In November, Delhi recorded its worst air quality for the month in seven years, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. As a result, the Delhi government took several measures including banning construction works, but the air quality continues to remain in "poor quality."

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) India in the national capital was at 335 on Friday morning.