As the national capital and surrounding states prepare for worsening air pollution in the coming days, the Supreme Court on Thursday reprimanded the governments of Punjab and Haryana for their failure to take action against farmers involved in stubble burning.
Stubble burning, where farmers set fire to straw left in fields after harvesting crops like wheat and paddy, is a significant contributor to pollution and declining air quality in Delhi and nearby regions.
The bench made up of Justices Abhay S. Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih stated that the states have only managed to collect a small amount of compensation from the farmers participating in stubble burning, as per Bar and Bench report.
“For different reasons, they do not want to prosecute anybody it is the problem as simple as that. They do not want to take penal action but only hold meetings. All that the States have done is recover nominal compensation from the farmers,” the court said in its ruling while hearing a case concerning air pollution in Delhi.
The court also criticised the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for failing to ensure that its own directives are implemented by the states. “Commission itself prima facie does not seem to be taking any efforts for follow ups on implementation of its directions regarding enforcement and safeguarding. No steps being taken for its own orders obviously,” it added.
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