The Supreme Court on November 25, slammed the Centre and the states for their failure to improve the air quality of the national capital – New Delhi.

The apex court after hearing the explanation proffered by the government, said that blame game and politics are standing in the way of improving the air quality.

Justice Arun Mishra during the hearing told Tushar Mehta, Centre’s second most senior law officer that the world is laughing at us and blamed the government for reducing the lifespan of people.

He questioned, “Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers. Better to get explosives and kill them all in one go.” It said the national capital’s condition is worse than narak (hell).

The Supreme court in the past had expressed its dissatisfaction towards the government’s inability in tackling the air pollution. A few days back, the top court tore into the top officers of Punjab and Haryana and asked them to stop stubble burning in their respective states.

Justice Mishra mauled the Punjab official and said that because of its inefficiency, the people in NCR are dying of cancer. Stating that air pollution in the national capital is a politically managed one, he said that officials will now be fined for not implementing the apex court’s order banning stubble burning.

The top court picked up Haryana chief secretary and asked why shouldn’t the state compensate Delhi’ites for the air pollution. The apex court directed the Centre and the Delhi government to install ‘smog towers’ across the capital to deal with air pollution.

Smog towers are long structures which will be erected across the city to purify the air. The 20-metre high tower will trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air.

At the time of the hearing, the overall air quality index in the national capital stood 240 which falls in “poor” air quality.

Also Read: Deadly Air Pollution May Cut 17 Years From Life Of A Delhi Resident