After Supreme Court rap, Centre doubles penalty for stubble burning

In response to Supreme Court’s (SC’s) criticism of the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986, and its “toothless” penalties, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Wednesday doubled the fines on stubble burning to combat the deteriorating air quality in Delhi and surrounding regions.

 

“Unless proper exercise of power under Section 15 of the Act is made, there cannot be any effective action against the wrongdoers. We expect the government to take action within two weeks from today,” the Bench had said in its order.

 

The updated penalties, introduced under the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act of 2021, impose a Rs 5,000 fine on farmers with less than two acres, Rs 10,000 on those between two and five acres, and Rs 30,000 for larger landholders engaging in the practice. 

 

 

The penalties introduced through the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (Imposition, Collection, and Utilisation of Environmental Compensation for Stubble Burning) Amendment Rules, 2024, outlines new measures, with pollution control boards and the CAQM designated to handle complaints and investigations.

 

The rules apply to the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, and the National Capital Region areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

 

If a farmer is found burning stubble, environmental compensation will be collected through a challan, which must be paid within 30 days of issuance. If payment is not made within this timeframe, the Commission will issue a certificate for the due amount and send it, along with the challan, to an authorised state or Union Territory officer. This officer will then recover the amount as an arrear of land revenue, and the state land revenue records will be marked with a red entry for the farmer involved in stubble burning.

 

The collected compensation will be deposited into the account of the respective State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee.

 

The rationale behind the increased penalty is the rampant stubble burning and rising pollution levels in and around the National Capital and its adjoining regions. However, the data on stubble burning tells a different story.

 

The number of incidents has dropped from 71,829 in 2020 to 12,514 between September 16 and November 6, according to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. 

 

Despite this, the Central Pollution Control Board reports that the number of days with poor to severe air quality increased from 87 to 110 days during the same period. Air quality is classified as “poor” when the AQI reaches 200 and “severe” when it exceeds 401.

 

According to the data presented by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Wednesday, local pollution sources in Delhi account for 30.34 per cent of the city’s air pollution (50.1 per cent of which is contributed through transportation), while 34.97 per cent originates from the neighbouring NCR districts and 27.94 per cent from other areas. Stubble burning contributes only 8.19 per cent to Delhi's pollution levels.

 

This is the central government’s second action following a SC reprimand on unchecked environmental violations. Business Standard on Thursday reported that the MoEFCC has introduced the Environment Protection (Manner of Holding Inquiry and Imposition of Penalty) Rules, 2024, which provide comprehensive guidelines for investigating and penalising environmental violations. 

 

The updated rules outline key factors to consider when determining the penalties’ scale. Adjudicating officers are instructed to assess elements such as the project’s location and size, the industry type, and the specific nature of the violation.

 

Delhi’s air quality has been alarming, with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recording an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 367 on Thursday, nearing the “severe” level. 

 

Several areas in the city crossed the 400 AQI mark, classified as ‘severe,’ while Haryana’s Faridabad and Gurugram and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, and Noida recorded AQIs between 252 and 313, indicating ‘very poor’ levels.