HC to pass order on rising air pollution in Delhi on Friday

The Delhi High Court today reserved its order on a PIL initiated by it on the issue of rising air pollution in Delhi and the neighbouring states.
A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sunil Gaur said it would pronounce the order and directions on Friday.
The court was informed that the issue of crop residue burning remains mainly for four months, starting October.
During the hearing, the counsel for Punjab told the court that their action plan was already in place and they have been giving training to farmers on how to handle and dispose of the stubble.

The court had earlier directed the Centre to develop environment-friendly farming practices to reduce stubble burning, a major cause of air pollution in the national capital during the autumn and winter months.
It had issued the direction to the ministries of Environment, Science and Technology, and Agriculture asking them to coordinate with educational or technical institutions, if feasible.

The court had asked the central government to explore the possibility of creating a fund for innovation in farming techniques.
It had also issued directions to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and the Delhi governments to file status reports every alternate month on steps taken to educate and create awareness among farmers and agricultural workers against the ills of stubble-burning.

The states were also asked to inform the court about the progress achieved by them with regard to exploring the use of alternative technology or farming practice to eliminate stubble and giving incentives or subsidies to stop the practice of burning the crop residue.