Stubble burning: SC asks CAQM to hold meeting with Punjab, Haryana, UP

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Commission for Air Quality Management to hold a meeting with Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments on the proposed action plans to tackle the issue of stubble burning.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan asked CAQM to consult the states and come out with its own views on the issue and submit suggestions by March 17.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Punjab government, submitted farmers need to be convinced that crop diversification was a viable option.

"There is a minimum support price (MSP) that has to be given and minimum assured procurement. In paddy produce 100 per cent produce is assured that it will be picked up by the Food Corporation of India -- which undertakes paddy cultivation. For maize and others, that procurement policy is not there," he said. 

Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh said the state government supported steps for eradicating stubble burning but other factors that added to pollution within Delhi should also be taken into account.

"We have data on air quality index of Delhi after November 15 which was the last day the fire incident was reported and thereafter the AQI in Delhi touched 400 and in January it is continuing....we are committed to eradicating stubble burning but how much are we contributing as a state, if your lordships can just take a call on that," he said.

On the issue of minimum support amount to daily wagers while halting constructions, the top court noted that UP, Delhi and Haryana were non-compliant and directed that chief secretaries of the states concerned remained present via video-conferencing.

The top court previously said the Punjab and Haryana governments were slow in taking action against farmers burning stubble and a mechanism was required for a long-term solution to the problem.

It said a machinery had to be set in motion to ensure 24/7 data was available.

The Centre previously opposed in the top court a proposal to form a committee of former apex court judges to oversee the implementation of measures to curb stubble burning, a key contributor to Delhi-NCR's air pollution.

In an order on November 18, the top court directed the Centre and the CAQM to procure data on farm fires using geostationary satellites, as opposed to NASA's polar-orbiting satellites, to ensure real-time monitoring.

The court noted existing data from NASA satellites was limited to specific time windows and directed the involvement of Isro in utilising stationary satellites for comprehensive day-long monitoring.