In order passed by a bench of the NGT consisting of Judicial Member SK Singh and Expert Members SS Garbyal and Nagin Nanda, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, 18 states and Union Territories have been included in the ambit in order to reduce air pollution, given the nexus between the COVID 19 and air pollution. The bench sought responses from several states such as, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Earlier, only Delhi, Haryana and UP were instructed. One of the orders include prohibiting the sale of firecrackers.
In the interest of public health and reduction of air pollution, the NGT also issued notice to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
