M C MEHTA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Unless the two Governments, namely, the Union Government and the Government of NCT of Delhi share the perception of this Court to safeguard public health, the orders made by this Court from time to time will have no effect. We are, however, assured by learned counsel appearing for the Union of India as well as the Government of NCT of Delhi that the two Governments do share our perception and concern to safeguard public health by providing clean air.

(2.) According to the affidavits filed by the Union of India and Indraprastha Gas Limited, it transpires that there is no shortage of CNG per se. The difficulty appears to be in the manner of allocating enough gas to meet transport requirements of Delhi on priority basis. It is for the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Union Government to sit together and resolve that difficulty so that orders of this Court are implemented in letter and in spirit. The effort of the two Governments should be to see that orders by this Court, which have been made in the interest of public health, are implemented and not to derail those orders by inventing new bogeys and bottlenecks in the name of demand and supply of CNG.

(3.) We had extended the date by our orders dated 26-3-200l and 28-9-2001 and had hoped that buses which were permitted to operate on the special-permit basis would be phased out by replacing them with the CNG buses. No figures are available from either of the affidavits as to how many such vehicles, if any, have been phased out between July 2001 and 18-10- 2001. Our relaxing the order was meant to assist the parties to phase out buses plying on special permits and was not to be treated as "substituting" those vehicles for CNG-compliant vehicles.