The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the failure of the Haryana and Punjab governments to curb stubble burning showed “complete defiance” and summoned the chief secretaries of the two states to appear before it on October 23, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih issued the order while hearing a case about air pollution in Delhi.
No prosecutions had taken place against violators for stubble burning despite the court reprimanding Punjab and Haryana earlier this month, the bench observed.
A stubble of stalks about two feet high is left in the fields after paddy is harvested in October. Because the sowing cycle for wheat begins in late October, farmers have very little time to prepare their fields and so typically set fire to the stubble and then clear the residue.
Air quality plunges in the winter months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world’s most polluted capital. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the factors that contributes to air pollution in the region in conjunction with falling temperatures, low wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants.
On Wednesday, the bench noted that the states had not taken any steps to implement the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and surrounding areas in June 2021 to stop stubble burning, according to Live Law.
“The order of the commission is more than three years old,” the court said. “The problem which creates air pollution has existed for decades. But still the states are struggling to find a solution notwithstanding available statutory framework.”
The bench added that it was not a “political” matter, according to Bar and Bench. “If chief secretary is acting at somebody’s behest, we will issue summons against them as well,” it said. “Nothing has been done, same is with Punjab. The attitude is of complete defiance.”
The court said that the Haryana government was only imposing nominal fines against farmers found to be burning stubble burning. “191 cases of breach and only nominal fine taken,” it said. “Complete defiance by Haryana.”
The bench also told the Punjab government, represented by Advocate General Gurminder Singh, that not a single person had been prosecuted for stubble burning in the past three years. “Only nominal fine,” it said. “Nothing has been done.”
Singh said that it was difficult to comply with the directions against farmers.
“Last time our officers were treated badly there by the people,” he added. In response, the bench said: “So you mean to say that let people suffer from air pollution because state is not able to comply with it.”
In September, the court had reprimanded the Commission for Air Quality Management for its failure to adequate steps to address pollution, Bar and Bench reported.
At the hearing on Wednesday, the bench questioned the air quality panel about the action that could be taken against officers for failing to discharge their functions. “Commission will make a statement about coercive action taken against state officials,” it said in its order.
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