The apex court on Monday (July 9) imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the Delhi government as no counsel appeared on behalf of it in the PIL filed by environmental lawyer MC Mehta who has raised concerns over air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.

On the previous hearing, the bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta had asked the Delhi government to apprise it on the details of its suggestion to procure 960 fully electric buses, semi-low floor, and sought to know the quality and nature of these buses, and the time needed to set up charging stations for them.

The court had also suggested to the Delhi government to consider hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses as they were cost-effective as compared to electric buses as well as CNG-powered buses.

The bench had further asked the Delhi government to explain why the funds meant for public transport were lying unused.

—India Legal Bureau