Stubble Burning: 'We Don't Know How, But You Should Stop It,' Supreme Court Tells Punjab
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Punjab government to ensure that there is no stubble burning in the state.
"We want it (stubble burning) stopped. We don't know how you do it; it's your job. But it must be stopped. Something has to be done immediately," the SC said.
What SC said
The SC, while hearing a case over the worsening air quality in Delhi, said the burning of crop residue in neighbouring states Punjab and Haryana is a key factor behind the massive spike in pollution every winter.?
The SC further directed Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to stop stubble burning "forthwith" and made chief secretaries and director general of police concerned state responsible for overseeing the implementation of the court order.
How stubble burning became political
Stubble burning has always been a contentious practice, and while it has been blamed for the rise in air pollution levels in Delhi, how much it contributes has been a highly debated topic.
The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has long blamed the farm fires in Punjab and Haryana for the toxic air quality in Delhi.
But ever since coming to power in Punjab, the AAP has changed its stand.
Recently, Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi had said that there was no official data available that could tell the different sources that were contributing to the pollution levels in the national capital.
What Punjab government says?
On Monday, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed that most stubble-burning incidents are being witnessed in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
He claimed that such cases have declined in Punjab as the AAP government has provided crop residue management machinery to paddy growers to check stubble-burning incidents in the state.
There was a significant decline in the number of crop residue burning incidents in the state this season, Cheema said.
He also said that farmers were being asked not to set paddy straw ablaze, adding that strict action was also being taken against erring growers.
"There was a 56 per cent decline in the number of stubble-burning incidents this season in Punjab," he said.
How stubble burning has changed in Punjab?
According to data from NASA Earth VIIRS, there was a 47.8 per cent reduction in farm fires in Punjab and 38.04 per cent in Haryana between 2022 and 2023 from October 1 to November 5.
In Punjab, according to the data compiled by researchers of New Delhi-based Climate Trends, there were 27,401 farm fire incidents from October 1 to November 5, 2022.
This year, the total count during this period was 14,255, a reduction of 47.8 per cent. In Haryana, the total count during this period was 2,978 in 2022, which fell to 1,845 in 2023, a fall of 38.04 per cent.
Why wind is a major factor
According to the researchers, they have found that 54 per cent and 27 per cent of the time, the wind carries pollution from Punjab and Haryana, respectively, leading to an increase in pollution levels in Delhi.
"Eighty-one per cent of the wind in Delhi these days is from Punjab and Haryana. While the farm fires data from Punjab and Haryana reveals a substantial reduction by 47.8 per cent and 38.04 per cent, respectively, against data for October 2022, but since the volume of wind from the region is so high, it brings the undesirable impact of heavy pollution," Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends, said.
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