At 80, environmentalist MC Mehta expressed hope that vigilance to protect the environment would continue after the Supreme Court formally disposed of the writ petition he filed in 1985. The petition, which became the vehicle for the most sustained judicial intervention on urban air quality, produced orders that converted Delhi's bus fleet to CNG, phased out leaded petrol, and created the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.
Mehta said he hoped the momentum would not be lost, adding that he was glad to have been part of bringing about some improvement in the lives of human beings and animals. He wished Delhi would take more stringent steps to tackle its current air pollution crisis.
Experts said the Delhi pollution case remained a milestone even as its limitations have become clearer with time. It became a catalyst for far-reaching changes and helped accelerate action at a time when policy-level action was not picking up momentum.
