India, Dec. 19 -- The Supreme Court's direction to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to go back to the drawing board - this came along with a sharp rebuke from the Court on Wednesday - is both overdue and necessary. For far too long, the response to air pollution in the national capital region has followed a tired script: Governments wait for the air to turn toxic, scramble to enforce piecemeal measures once pollution reaches "severe" levels, and then roll back restrictions the moment numbers improve. This reactive firefighting has been repeated for years, with little to show for it. Delhi's air has been "very poor" or "severe" on all but two days this month - and even those brief reprieves came not from policy, but from strong winds. November had a similar pattern. Long-term data also offer a warning: After the late October-early November spike linked to stubble burning and Diwali, Delhi historically sees another sustained spell of dangerous air in late December, driven by low temperatures. This should have prompted structural intervention years ago. Instead, residents are offered temporary relief through the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), a framework that continues to kick in late and is lifted hurriedly. The result is prolonged exposure to toxic air, punctuated by blunt measures such as construction bans or school closures that treat symptoms, not causes. The apex court rightly called this approach a "total failure". Grap, despite its reworks, has lulled authorities into complacency - allowing long-term solutions to be continuously deferred because short-term restrictions can be imposed when a crisis hits. Even as the benefits of these measures remain uneven and uncertain, their costs are immediate and real. Construction workers, daily wage earners and informal workers bear the brunt of abrupt shutdowns, with welfare mechanisms that exist largely on paper. Reorienting CAQM towards durable, long-term action is therefore essential. The court has outlined a broad but sensible roadmap: cleaner urban mobility, alternatives to stubble burning, less polluting industrial processes and rational energy use. While not all of this falls within CAQM's direct control, the commission was created precisely to cut across silos - forcing coordination between Delhi and neighbouring states, which data shows account for a large share of the Capital's smog. The court's message is unambiguous: Ad hoc responses have run their course. What is now required is political and bureaucratic will to act early, act together and act for the long term....