This is happening every year. The air quality even inside rooms is very bad… people are dying…no civilised country can allow it to go on,” the bench said.
By A Correspondent / New Delhi
The Supreme Court today came down heavily on the central and the state government over air pollution that has taken alarming proportions in Delhi and its surrounding states. Apex court summoned chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and UP to appear before it on Wednesday to explain why the states failed to tackle stubble burning.
Expressing grave concern at the worsening air quality in Delhi and NCR, the Supreme Court said that even though the city was choking, the Centre and state governments of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi were passing the buck.
“People are losing precious years of their lives due to pollution,” a bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Deepak Gupta said, adding, it would hold the state governments and ‘sarpanchs’ liable for it as it amounted to “tort,” i.e. a civil wrong.
What Supreme Court said :-
- SC makes it clear. Stop stubble burning. If it happens then Gram Pradhan, Tehsildar, District Collector, Police officials and Chief Secretary will be made responsible.
- SC tells Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and UP to appear personally. Hearing on Wednesday at 3.30 pm. SC rejects the request of Haryana govt to exempt Chief Secretary to appear before SC.
- SC points fingers at Odd-Even scheme of Delhi govt. SC observes this looks useless. Tells Delhi govt to give details of the Odd-Even, Data related to use of vehicles during Odd-Even. SC will see if this is really working. Hearing on Friday.
- SC bans construction and demolition and garbage burning in Delhi NCR. Fine of Rs.1 lakh for construction and demolition. Rs.5000 for garbage burning. No use of diesel generators in Delhi NCR (exemption to hospitals and essential services). However, SC also tells the government to ensure there is no power cut in the area.
- ————————————-
“This is happening every year. The air quality even inside rooms is very bad… people are dying…no civilised country can allow it to go on,” the bench said.
Underlining that state governments were squarely responsible for the situation, the bench said, “We are going to fix liability on the state governments and sarpanchs.”
It summoned experts from IIT Delhi and the Ministry of Environment and Forests to seek their advice on short term and long term measures to deal with the health emergency.
The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said Delhi government should have increased the number of buses in the capital.
Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni told the bench that the Centre had filed an affidavit on the issue giving latest details about the problem.
The ASG said stubble burning has gone up in Punjab by 7 per cent while it has come down by 17 per cent in Haryana.
As the bench asked about the situation in western Uttar Pradesh, Nadkarni said, “We are collecting details.”
The bench repeatedly said, “Every year this is happening, and this continues for 10-15 days, this can’t be done in civilised countries. Right to life is most important. It’s not the way we can live.
This is too much. No room is safe to live in this city, even in homes. We are losing precious years of their life due to this,” it said.
Amicus Curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh said the court had in 2018 passed a detailed order, and the Centre had agreed to provide machinery needed by farmers to wean them away from stubble burning.
Individual farmers were to get it at 50 per cent subsidy while co-operatives were to be provided machinery at 75 per cent subsidy, she told the bench.
Noting that stubble burning has been showing a downward trend in Punjab for last two-three years, Singh wondered how it was up this crop season.
At one stage, the bench asked the Punjab counsel to explain why stubble burning was going up in the state.
“You are asking people to die. Your states (Punjab, Haryana) are also badly affected. Is this the administration left in Punjab and Haryana? Every year this is happening. We will fasten the liability on states and panchayats also,” the Bench said.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar said farmers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh didn’t burn stubble and the same could be replicated in NCR.
Kumar suggested that like in Beijing and Shanghai, Delhi and NCR would do cloud seeding for rains that could alleviate the situation.