Punjab stubble burning not causing Delhi smog: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said the smog in Delhi is not due to stubble burning in Punjab, but is being caused by industrial and vehicle pollution.

"The burning of stubble in Amritsar and Gurdaspur doesn't reach Delhi. There are other causes of huge smog in Delhi. This smog is not because of stubble burning but due to industrial and vehicle pollution," Punjab AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira told ANI.

"Farmers in Punjab are dying or are committing suicide because of colossal debt. Why is the government not implementing the National Green Tribunal order? The Government of India and the Punjab Government have been clearly directed to create a mechanism, give the farmers heavy tractors on rent. The government has done nothing in the last two years," he claimed.

On October 15, Khaira led a farmers' protest in Ludhiana and burnt paddy stubble.

He also opposed the Punjab Government's decision to book farmers allegedly involved in stubble burning.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking compensation for farmers for crop resident management, with a view to check stubble burning, one of the major contributors to the toxic smog currently hovering over northern India.

Pointing out that the current pollution crisis was largely triggered by the burning of paddy straw in the paddy-growing areas of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Singh appealed to the prime minister to order a probe on priority and announce a plan for crop-related compensation at Rs. 100/- per quintal on wheat (above MSP), and later for paddy to incentivise farmers not to burn crop residue.