Supreme Court criticized Punjab government’s straw burning
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court harshly criticized the Punjab government for stubble burning, which is one of the causes of the air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The court also noted that farmers are being portrayed as villains because they are not given a hearing in court.
The Punjab government’s record, according to the Supreme Court, indicates that state house officers had 8,481 meetings with farmers and farm leaders to persuade them not to burn paddy straws. Additionally, it noted in its order that farm fires are still on the rise. “984 FIRs have been filed against landowners for engaging in stubble burning.
The top court stated that ₹18 lakh of the more than ₹2 crore in environmental compensation that has been mandated has been retrieved. A bench of Justices SK Kaul and S Dhulia, hearing a plethora of petitions regarding the hazardous air across the nation’s capital, directed the Punjab and Delhi governments to take action against the burning of agricultural waste, which exacerbates Delhi’s air pollution problem.
“Why is it that the Punjab government says the technique for handling agricultural residue is expected to be offered at no cost? It only takes a farmer to strike a matchstick to burn it. For farmers, machinery for managing crop residue is not everything. Even if the machine is provided free of charge, there are costs associated with diesel, labor, etc., the Supreme Court stated, questioning Punjab’s inability to pay for labor, diesel, etc. and make use of the byproduct.
The Supreme Court declared that Punjab should “likewise take a cue from the state of Haryana in the manner in which financial incentives are given.” The court also noted that Punjab’s soil is gradually drying up due to a declining water table. The highest court stated that everything else will be impacted if the land runs out.
It informed the Punjab government that “somewhere the farmers should understand or be made to understand the consequences of growing paddy.” Attorney General R Venkatramani was also ordered by the court to investigate “methods for discouraging paddy and promoting alternative crops.”
Punjab reported 634 farm fires on Monday, with farmers in several regions still setting rice straw on fire in spite of police efforts to keep stubble burning from starting. Since November 8, the Punjab Police said it has filed 1,084 FIRs against negligent farmers and fined them ₹1.87 crore in 7,990 cases.
According to Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla, Punjab saw 634 farm fires—the fewest since Diwali—as a result of the police’s ongoing efforts to stop stubble burning. Shukla has been assigned as the police’s nodal officer to monitor stubble burning. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, pollution levels in Delhi and its suburbs rose over night.
The capital’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was measured at 365 at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. At 4 p.m. on Monday, the city’s AQI was 348, down from 301 on Sunday. Every day at 4 p.m., the 24-hour average AQI was reported as 319 on Saturday, 405 on Friday, and 419 on Thursday.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court further mandated that a committee investigate the possibility of inhibiting rice cultivation. The statement continued, “Thus, persons concerned must put their heads together to see how to encourage switching over the alternate crop,” warning that the long-term effects could be severe.
In the midst of the political blame game over air pollution, the Supreme Court noted that state and federal governments needed to put politics aside and work out how to solve this problem. It stated that “land will run dry and water will disappear if the blame game continues.”
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