New Delhi . The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Punjab and Haryana governments for charging only nominal compensation from farmers who burn stubble. The Supreme Court clarified that due to stubble burning, the air quality of Delhi is being seriously affected, due to which the pollution level in Delhi is increasing. Along with this, the Air Quality Management Commission also faced criticism from the Supreme Court.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustin George Masih said that the Commission has not made any effort to implement the necessary directions in preventing incidents of stubble burning. The Supreme Court said that only 5 out of 11 members were present in the meeting held on August 29, not only this, the court’s instructions were not discussed in the meeting.
The court said that unless people understand that they will have to face serious penalties under the Air Quality Management Commission Act, stubble burning will not stop. It is the responsibility of the Commission to take strict action against those who spread pollution there.
The Court, after reviewing the status report of the Commission, said that the Commission is busy only in holding meetings and is not taking any concrete steps to implement its orders. The judges clarified that the commission has the power under the Act to register criminal cases, impose fines and shut down polluting units.
Citing statistics, the Supreme Court said that between September 15 and 30, 129 incidents of illegal stubble burning took place in Punjab and Haryana. The court said that merely collecting the fine is not enough, as there is now a need to hold them accountable under the law.
The Punjab government said that it will take punitive action only after providing alternative incentives to the farmers there. The state Advocate General said that more than 1.4 lakh stubble removal machines are available in the state, but small farmers need drivers and fuel to operate the machines. The next hearing of this case will be on October 16.