New Delhi: The Supreme Court today said air pollution in Delhi cannot become a political battle and asserted that the stifling air quality is responsible for “killing people’s health”. The court said stubble burning in the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is a major factor behind the massive increase in Delhi’s air pollution every winter. The report requested that state governments take measures to prevent the burning of stubble. The court told the Punjab government counsel, “We want this to be stopped. We don’t know how you do it, that’s your job. But it must be stopped. Something must be done immediately.”
The court did not even spare the Delhi government. “The Delhi government should also be responsible. There are many buses that cause pollution and run at half capacity. You have to focus on the problem,” it said.
A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia posted the matter for Friday. The court has asked the Center to hold a meeting with the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi on ways to stop stubble burning. It also said it would also look at vehicular emissions, another major contributor to Delhi’s air pollution.
The court was hearing a case highlighting the toxic air quality in the national capital, which has been in the ‘severe’ category for the past few days. According to Central Pollution Control Board data, AQI was more than 400 in many areas of Delhi today, which is four times the satisfactory air quality level.
Advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for the petitioner, said that the fire in the fields in Punjab has not been controlled. He said that stubble burning is a major contributor to the deterioration in Delhi’s air quality. “CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) and the state are saying that they are taking all steps to control air pollution. However, the report stated that the burning of stubble is still ongoing. The court declared that Delhi could not continue in this manner.
Senior advocate Gopal Shankaranarayan, appearing for the petitioners, also said that the case is being heard since 2017 and several orders have been passed.
The court also asked Punjab and the Center to find alternative crops of paddy. This revealed how paddy is also depleting the water table of the state.
The annual increase in Delhi’s air pollution levels and the role of stubble burning in it has emerged as a political issue in the last few years. The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has earlier accused rival governments in Punjab and Haryana of not stopping stubble burning.
The Aam Aadmi Party now finds itself in a difficult position as it rules both Delhi and Punjab. It has claimed that Punjab has seen a huge decline in stubble burning and blamed it on BJP-ruled Haryana. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said that the BJP is making Punjab a scapegoat while their governments have failed to ban diesel buses in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The BJP has criticized the Arvind Kejriwal government, questioning the logic behind announcing the odd-even scheme after Diwali and several other steps to curb air pollution in the capital. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has said that the effectiveness of the odd-even scheme is not supported by any research and it is being implemented as a “publicity stunt”.
The burning of crop residue is a practice that is dependent upon the individual needs of the farmer. They are pressed for time before the winter sowing season and setting fire to fields is the fastest and cheapest way to clear fields for new crops. The alternative is to engage laborers or machines to do the work – both of which require a lot of money.
Leave a Reply