India, May 9 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday issued contempt notices to the chief secretaries of Delhi and neighbouring NCR states for failing to fill longstanding vacancies in their respective pollution control boards, noting with dismay that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) was virtually "non-functional" with 55% of posts lying vacant.

Delhi's chief secretary has been directed to appear in person on May 19, while those from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been asked to appear online on July 18.

The directions came in a public interest litigation by lawyer-activist MC Mehta. On August 27, 2024, the court had ordered that all vacancies in DPCC and the state pollution control boards of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and R...