'Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? It is better to kill them all in one go', Supreme Court raps Centre, state governments

"Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? It is better to kill them all in one go, " the Supreme Court told the Centre on Monday for not doing enough to control pollution in Delhi and nearby areas. 

The bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Arun Mishra pulled up Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing Centre in the apex court, saying, "Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? It is better to kill them all in one go, get explosives in 15 bags at one go. Why should people suffer all this? In Delhi blame game is going on, I am literally shocked”.

Earlier on Monday, the residents of Delhi once again woke up breathing toxic air as the air quality index (AQI) remained under the "poor" category. At 9:10 am, the AQI stood at 218 in the national capital, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). 

An AQI of O-50 is considered as "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", 401-500 "severe", and over 501 "very severe". 

The SC also rapped Punjab, Haryana, Delhi governments for failing to take measures to control pollution. 

"Why stubble burning has increased in the state. You (Haryana government) had done a good job earlier in controlling stubble burning, but now it has increased. Punjab and Haryana are not doing anything ”, the SC said to chief secretaries of Punjab and Haryana.  

The SC also called Delhi worse than hell. It said that the Delhi government has no right to be in the chair.

"How many lakhs each person should be paid? How much do you value a person's life", the SC told Delhi government. 

People are laughing at our country that we can't even control stubble burning. The blame game is not serving the people of Delhi, the SC said. 

The SC said the government is not able to take measures doesn't mean that people in Delhi NCR suffer and die from cancer.

The apex court also asked Punjab secretary of the steps taken by the government to prevent stubble burning.  "How can you treat people like this & let them die. Tell us why stubble burning increased after our order. Why are you not able to check stubble burning. Is it not a failure?," the SC said. 

The SC also ordered the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file details on the nature of factories operating in the capital city and its adverse impact on the environment. The apex court said that it will take suo motu cognisance of water pollution issue in Delhi to verify whether the drinking water is safe for the people of this city.

Delhi is considered as the most polluted city in the world.