Stubble burning is taking place in Jhajar and Khaital in Haryana.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held a hearing on rising air pollution in Delhi. Chief secretaries of Punjab and Haryana were present in the court. The Supreme Court here condemned the Punjab government for providing wrong information. The Supreme Court is also satisfied with the Haryana government’s action
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A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, A Amanullah and AG Masih termed the efforts of the Punjab and Haryana governments to stop stubble burning in fields as “sheer sham”.
The Supreme Court said if these governments were serious about enforcing the law, at least one case should be heard. The Supreme Court even said that it is time to remind the central government, Punjab and Haryana that living in a pollution-free environment is the fundamental right of citizens. Living in pollution is a serious violation of fundamental rights under Article 21.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has reprimanded the Council of Air Quality Management (CAQM) over rising pollution in the National Capital Region of Delhi. The court said the council had not prepared any mechanism to enforce restrictions to prevent contamination. The court said why not take direct action against the officials who failed to stop the pollution instead of just issuing notices to them and seeking a reply?
The central government has assured the Supreme Court that action will be taken within 10 days against those who burn stubble under the CAQM Act. The next hearing in the case will be held on November 4.
Satellite images of stubble burning incidents in Haryana and Punjab.
The central government has given two weeks The Supreme Court has given the central government two weeks to formulate rules on air pollution under the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and appoint responsible officials. The court said in a stern tone that this was not only an illegal case, but also a blatant violation of citizens’ basic rights.
The Supreme Court said two important things to the Haryana government…
1. Your stats change every minute Haryana Chief Secretary told the Supreme Court that 400 incidents of crop burning have taken place in the state and 32 FIRs have been registered in the state. The Supreme Court told the Chief Secretary that their figures were changing every minute.
The government is picking and choosing. Only a few people were fined and FIRs were registered against a very few people. The Supreme Court said it was concerned about filing of FIRs against certain persons and imposing small fines on certain persons.
2. What did you give the farmers? Supreme Court asks Haryana chief secretary – What steps are being taken against stubble? Is any help provided to farmers? In this regard, the Chief Secretary said that about 100,000 straw processing machines have been equipped and the incidents of straw burning have reduced.
Haryana Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad.
Supreme Court says four important things to Punjab government…
1. Nominal fines have been collected and 600 people have been spared. The Supreme Court told the Punjab Chief Secretary that 1,080 FIRs were registered in the state in cases of stubble burning but only nominal fines were collected from 473 people. You are saving 600 or more people. From this, the Supreme Court said, you are sending a signal to those who burn stubble that no action will be taken against them. This has been happening for the past three years.
2. The advocate shall inform on whose instructions the false statement was made. The Supreme Court also reprimanded the Attorney General and Chief Secretary of Punjab. The court asked the Attorney General to inform on the instructions of which official he made false statements in connection with the request for machinery and funds from the Centre. The Chief Secretary should tell which official asked the Attorney General to do so. We will serve him with a contempt notice.
The Supreme Court also expressed displeasure with senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of the Punjab government. The court said the state government did not appear serious. First, the Attorney General stated that there were no cases against anyone. Now you said 5 cases were registered this year. The Supreme Court also produced the Punjab government’s previous affidavit that no case was filed.
KAP Sinha, Chief Secretary, Punjab.
3. Did 9,000 people only discover 9 incidents? The top court further asked whether there was any mention of a village-level monitoring committee in the affidavit. When did the government issue the order? When was this committee established? Who is its nodal officer? In this regard, lawyer Singhvi said that 9,000 committees have been formed. We will file an affidavit with complete details. The Supreme Court said that only 9 incidents were detected among 9,000 people?
4. You even faked the ISRO report and released 400 people The Supreme Court reprimanded the Punjab government for even denying the ISRO satellite report. Counsel for the Council of Air Quality Management (CAQM) said 400 accidents had occurred in Amritsar. The court asked how many recent incidents had occurred. In this regard, lawyer Singhvi said that a total of 1,510 incidents occurred and 1,080 cases were registered. The Supreme Court said this also excluded 400 people. Singhvi said some reports were wrong.
Know the air pollution situation in Haryana and Punjab…
Panipat gas chamber was established, AQI exceeded 300 in 17 areas Pollution has reached dangerous levels in six areas on GT Road in Haryana. Panipat has been turned into a gas chamber. The air quality index (AQI) here has reached 500. At the same time, the air quality index in 17 areas is above 300, which is a dangerous level. The air quality index in Kurukshetra exceeded 400 on Tuesday. I feel difficulty breathing and a burning sensation in my eyes in the morning and evening.
Grape Restriction No. 2 has been implemented in the National Capital Region of Delhi. NCR includes 14 districts of the state. Group 3 restrictions will also be implemented soon as pollution levels are increasing rapidly.
AQI exceeds 200 in 2 districts of Punjab The air quality index of two cities in Punjab has exceeded 200. Among them, the AQI of Mandi Gobindgarh reached 230 and the AQI of Amritsar reached 203. Apart from this, Ludhiana’s air quality index is also 191. The AQI in the remaining areas is still below 200.
Vice Chancellor Bishnoi said – AQI 400 means lack of oxygen Environmental Expert, Professor, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU). Narsiram Bishnoi said the elderly face the most problems with air pollution. When AQI levels reach around 400, it indicates hypoxia.
Diseases such as infections and bronchitis (inflammation of the respiratory tract) gradually increase. There is a burning sensation in the eyes. Straw itself is not the culprit of pollution, but there are many causes of pollution. Stubble is considered hazardous because burning it releases toxic gases into the atmosphere.
What actions have the Haryana and Punjab governments taken to stop stubble burning?
Three major propositions of the Haryana government
1. FIR against 150 farmers, 29 arrested The Haryana government claimed that around 150 farmers have registered FIRs in the state so far. Among them, 29 people were arrested and 380 people were placed on the red list. In the last 24 hours, FIRs have been registered against 46 farmers in Kurukshetra, 10 in Jind, three in Sirsa and two in Fatehabad. A case has been registered against three women farmers in Sirsa.
Investigation revealed that the land was provided on lease basis by women farmers. Now the police will summon the sharecroppers. Meanwhile, a case was registered against a woman farmer in Palwar for burning stubble. Five farmers were arrested from Karnal and two each from Sonipat and Kaital. However, after some time, he was released on bail. So far, a fine of Rs 8.35 lakh has been imposed on farmers for burning crop residues.
2. 24 officials and employees of the Ministry of Agriculture were suspended from their posts A day earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture suspended 24 officials and employees. These officials include Agricultural Development Officers (ADOs), Agricultural Directors and employees. The action was taken against officials of nine districts on behalf of Agriculture Minister Raj Narayan Kaushik.
This includes officials and employees of Panipat, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal, Karnal, Ambala, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra and Sonipat. Action has been taken against officials and employees who failed to take action amid rising incidents of stubble burning.
3. Cases reduced by half within three years Cases in the state have dropped to less than half in three years. In 2021, a total of 1,508 cases of straw burning were registered in the state from September 15 to date. Following this, 893 cases were registered in 2022 and 714 cases in 2023. But now in 2024, that number has stopped at 665. The government also continues to conduct surprise inspections to reduce this number.
Punjab Government Says – Penalty Rs 10.55 Lakhs, Red Entry in Revenue Record Rs 394 Cr Punjab Police Special Branch (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said that the police have registered 874 cases of stubble burning so far. A fine of Rs 10.55 lakh has been imposed. Red entries have appeared in the income records of 394 farmers. People must not only take action but also create awareness to avoid environmental pollution.
Also read news about straw burning…
If Haryana burns stubble, sale of crops in market stops: Both seasons will stop
About a week ago, the government took a major decision on the issue of stubble burning in Haryana. Farmers who burn their stubble will not be able to sell their crops in the market for the next two seasons. For this purpose, a red entry will be made in his “Meri Fasal-Mera Byora” record. The government says it aims to put an end to stubble burning. Read full news…