New Delhi. During the hearing in the Supreme Court on the issue of increasing air pollution in Delhi-NCR, the court strongly reprimanded the flying squad of the central government panel ‘Commission for Air Quality Management’ (CAQM). The court said that a CAQM meeting was held on August 29, but there was no discussion on the important issue of stubble burning. Expressing its displeasure, the Supreme Court said, “Three years ago it was ordered that strict action should be taken against those who spread pollution. But till now no concrete steps have been taken against him. Why is this happening?”
The court asked- “Why was no action taken?”
The Supreme Court raised questions over the lack of concrete action in the matter of pollution. On this, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that pollution is continuously declining, that is why strictness was not taken. After this the court said, “You hold meetings only three to four times a year. Merely setting goals will not suffice; results must also be achieved. This year, 129 incidents of stubble burning have been reported, but you have not taken action in even a single case.”
#BREAKING : Case of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, Supreme Court reprimands CAQM@RajputAditi , @ashishKB76 , #Delhi , #AirPollution , #SupremeCourt pic.twitter.com/qp4SH4nRQn
— NDTV India (@ndtvindia) October 3, 2024
Questions on Punjab government also
During the hearing, the Supreme Court asked the counsel for the Punjab government, “There have been 129 incidents of stubble burning in your state this year, but no action has been taken. You may have political compulsions, but not taking any action is very disappointing. You are also not able to ensure that farmers use alternative machines.”
Punjab gave clarification, demanded subsidy from Delhi
On this, the lawyer of Punjab government said that small farmers are facing problem in adopting the alternatives of burning stubble. He said that the Punjab government has written a letter to the Center to get a subsidy of Rs 1200 crore from Delhi. On this the Supreme Court asked, “Why should Delhi give subsidy to the farmers of Punjab? If the central government approves it, then subsidy can be received from Delhi.”
#BreakingNews SC’s comment on Delhi-NCR pollution case
SC asks Air Quality Management Commission
‘Why there was no discussion on stubble burning in the meeting on 29th August’Watch : https://t.co/a73ow22uAW#DelhiNCR #Pollution #SupremeCourt #Bharat24Digital @anchorpooja @SumitLegal pic.twitter.com/Hd460swlje
— Bharat 24 – Vision Of New India (@Bharat24Liv) October 3, 2024
Supreme Court’s comments in the last hearing
The Supreme Court had said in an earlier hearing that it is very important to ensure the use of alternative equipment for burning stubble at the grassroots level. The court had also directed CAQM to file better compliance reports.
