'Extremely Worrisome': Delhi LG Urges CMs Of Haryana, Punjab To Take Measures Against Stubble Burning

In a letter to Punjab CM Mann, Saxena expressed concern that the number of incidences of stubble burning between September 15 and October 11 had reached 1,063.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena. ( Image Source :PTI )

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has written to the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, expressing worry over the increase in stubble fires in their respective states and requesting that they take corrective steps to safeguard the national capital from increasing air pollution during the winter season, news agency PTI reported. In a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Saxena expressed concern that the number of incidences of stubble burning between September 15 and October 11 had reached 1,063 – 300 more than the figure for the same period previous year.

Saxena also wrote to Mann last year, when Delhi was choked by pollution produced by smoke from across the border.

"Between October 24, 2022 and November 2, 2022, there had been an increase of 19 per cent in the incidents of parali burning in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. You would also recall that last year, of the 5 states that affect Delhi's air quality, Punjab had remained the only non-performing outlier," the LG's letter was quoted by PTI in its report.

Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena writes to Punjab and Haryana Chief Ministers on stubble burning and pollution

"I urge you to galvanize all available resources and make the farmers willing partners in defeating this deadly menace", he says in the letter pic.twitter.com/vrfa4VirnA

— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2023

The Delhi LG, while praising the Haryana government for its efforts to limit stubble fires last year, informed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar that the incidences were on the rise this year.

"It is extremely worrisome that the incidents of crop residue burning in Haryana from September 15 to October 11 this year have reached 340, which is 257 more than the figure of 83 in the corresponding period during 2022," Saxena said.

Farmers in numerous regions, particularly Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, set fire to the paddy stubble (parali) left in the fields after harvest, resulting in a smoke blanket shrouding Delhi in winter when temperatures plunge.

The Delhi LG has requested both chief ministers to take immediate action to halt stubble burning and save Delhi from choking.

"I am sure that you are seized of the matter and urge you to galvanise all available resources and make the farmers willing partners in defeating this deadly menace and help the capital as indeed the entire NCR breath easy," he wrote in the letters.

He told the two CMs that stakeholders in Delhi are taking all necessary efforts to address local causes of air pollution including as vehicle emissions and dust from roads and sidewalks.

Apart from its 2 crore residents, Saxena pointed out that Delhi, as the national capital, has the Parliament building, the Supreme Court, and diplomatic embassies from all over the world.