Pollution-free environment is a fundamental right, says India's Supreme Court

Living in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right, India's Supreme Court said on Wednesday as it urged authorities to address deteriorating air quality in the north of the country.

India's capital Delhi recorded a "very poor" air quality index of 364 on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, which considers readings below 50 to be good. Swiss group IQAir rated Delhi the world's most polluted city in its live rankings.

The city battles toxic air every winter and authorities say much of the smoke comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear their fields in the neighbouring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.

The Supreme Court pulled up the governments of both states for taking "selective action" against stubble burning, saying penal provisions were not being properly implemented.

"These are not the matters only of implementing the existing laws, these are the matters of blatant violation of fundamental rights...the governments will have to address...how they are going to protect the right of citizens to live with dignity," the court said.

It directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's federal government to look into a proposal submitted by Punjab seeking extra funds to provide tractors and diesel to farmers with land holdings of "less than 10 acres".

Delhi is enveloped by a hazy, toxic blanket as temperatures drop each year and cold, heavy air traps vehicle emissions, construction dust, and smoke.

"All these steps are being taken to protect children from smog," said Marriyam Aurangzeb, a senior minister in Pakistan's Punjab.