SC Pulls Up Punjab Govt Over Stubble Burning, Asks Delhi, UP Govts To File Action-Taken Report
The Supreme Court sought to know why the Punjab government could not fund diesel, manpower, etc for crop residue management and utilise the byproduct.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked why is the Punjab government not making the process of crop residue management 100% free. "To burn it, all the farmer needs to do is light a matchstick. Machine for the management of crop residue to farmers is not everything. Even if a machine is given for free, there is diesel cost, manpower, etc," a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, according to news agency ANI.
The Supreme Court said that farmers are being "made a villain" and they are not being heard here in the court. "If we are passing directions, they should be here," Justice Dhulia said. "They must have some reasons for burning stubble," observed the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also sought to know why the Punjab government cannot fund diesel, manpower, etc and utilise the byproduct. The SC said Punjab should also take a cue from Haryana in the manner in which financial incentives are given.
The court said that it was the state's duty to fund the machinery For poor farmers.
Observing that a blame game will not help in reducing pollution, the Supreme Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to take action and file a report before it. "Ghaziabad will say Loni, Loni will say Ghaziabad. Delhi will say UP, and UP will say Delhi. Whether it's one km here or there, people are suffering. That's the bottom line... Waste continues to be burnt in the open. This is a problem both in UP and in Delhi... We expect both UP and Delhi to take action and file a report before us," the court said.
The court was reacting to Advocate General Gurminder Singh's submission that Rs 2 crore in damages had been collected from farmers for burning stubble. "As of yesterday, 6 districts in Punjab went completely fire-free," Singh was quoted as saying by legal news website Live Law. To this, Justice Kaul said: "On an MSP basis, why should anything be taken from the farmers who light the fires?"
The court also asked the Punjab government to explore how it can discourage paddy and encourage alternate crops. " Land in Punjab is becoming arid slowly because the water table is getting depleted. If the land runs dry, everything else will be affected. Somewhere the farmers should understand or be made to understand the consequences of growing paddy," Justice Kaul was quoted as saying by Live Law.
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