Stubble burning cases reported in Punjab, Haryana despite SC's criticism

Several incidents of stubble burning were seen in some parts of Haryana and Punjab despite the Supreme Court's criticism against both state governments for their failure to take sufficient action against the issue.

Incidents of stubble burning were seen in Kaithal district and on Karnal-Jind road area on Friday.

Similarly, stubble burning was also seen at Hardo Putli village of Amritsar and in Handiaya Village of Barnala, Punjab.

The issue of the rise in air pollution contributed by stubble burning is the practice of burning crop residues on farm fields, leading to massive emissions of smoke considered very hazardous for air quality.

The Supreme Court on October 23 criticised the Haryana and Punjab governments for failure to take action against stubble burning in the states and said it is a fundamental right of all citizens to live in a clean and pollution-free environment.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih also took strong exception to the Punjab and Haryana governments for not taking action against individuals for stubble burning and only nominal fines were being collected in some cases.

The bench said that if the Punjab and Haryana governments were genuinely interested in enforcing the law, there would have been at least one prosecution.

The apex court was hearing a case relating to air pollution in the city.

Posting the air pollution matter after Diwali, the top court said it will look into issues of pollution created by transport in Delhi, Delhi and peripheral industries, entries of heavy trucks and open garbage burning.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that the Haryana government has been providing Rs 1,000 per acre to farmers who avoid burning stubble, addressing concerns over the deteriorating air quality in the Delhi-NCR region.

"Our government is giving Rs 1,000 per acre for not burning stubble, and we are working to increase this amount further. I also instructed officials in a recent meeting that if there is a need to raise the subsidy, they should do so and provide the necessary equipment to the farmers," he said.

Saini added that various facilities have been made available to farmers for effective stubble management, highlighting that the Supreme Court had previously acknowledged the state's efforts in this regard.

On October 21, Punjab farmers urged the government to find a permanent solution for stubble burning, claiming that burning the stubble is their compulsion.