Delhi Air pollution crisis: How last year’s Supreme Court orders offered a literal breath of fresh air

Delhi air pollution crisis: Exactly a year ago, in response to a direction, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that the members and the chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) possessed sufficient experience in the field of air pollution and environmental issues.

The Centre’s assurance was in response to the direction on October 3 last year given by a three-judge bench led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay Oka , which asked the Centre to “satisfy” them if the chairperson of CAQM, a statutory body established to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding areas, had “requisite qualifications”.

The top court’s direction to the Centre, one among several issued to authorities last year, exempli