Explained: SC directions to states and Centre to stop stubble burning

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the states bordering Delhi-NCR including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana to stop stubble burning and take immediate steps to curtail air pollution.

While raising several crucial questions the top court came down heavily on the Centre and state governments and issued several directions to curb the problem of rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

The Bench of Justice Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia sternly warned against politicising such a severe issue that is posing a hazard to the health of people living in Delhi.

The Bench passed an order saying that residents of Delhi are suffering because they (the Centre and state governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana) can't find a solution. "This has been going on for the last five years. The matter requires immediate action and court monitoring," it said.

Following are the directions issued by the top court:

Revisit cultivation of Paddy in Punjab, MSP by Centre: The top also asked why paddy was being grown in Punjab when the water tables were already so low. "What are you doing? Look at your water table. Why are you allowing paddy in Punjab? You want to turn Punjab into a land of no crops from the green land," the Bench remarked. Attorney General Gurminder Singh appearing for Punjab along with making several suggestions said that there is a Minimum Support Price (MSP) on paddy crops in Punjab. This makes the marginal farmers opt for the crop. If the Centre removes the MSP on paddy in Punjab, then they will automatically switch to less water-intensive crops that are actually native to the state of Punjab, unlike paddy. The Bench also noted that since the Centre is already working to switch to millets, then this paddy must be switched with some other native and less water-intensive crop. It was further observed by the apex court in its order that adherence to the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 requires re-consideration as it is creating problems and the government should look into it. The AG said that 15 years ago this problem did not arise because such cropping did not take place. The SC in its order took note of Punjab's AG's suggestion and said that a serious look is required whether this kind of paddy that leaves stubble as a byproduct should be grown in the time period in which it is grown.

State funding for alternative solutions to stubble burning: The Punjab AG had suggested that since farmers are unwilling to bear the cost of machines purchased to tackle the stubble waste, Punjab is ready to bear 25 per cent cost of machines for tackling stubble waste, the Delhi government can bear 25 per cent cost and the Centre may bear 50 per cent. The farmers are burning stubble on account of the economic situation. The alternatives given are not being adhered to. The SC took note of this and said that if the Centre can spend so much on subsidies, they can also bear this cost.

Get the smog tower in Delhi working: The top court said that the smog tower installed in Delhi as per earlier order is not working, and called the same “ludicrous” and asked for it to be repaired.

Summon to DPCC chairperson: The court summoned the Chairperson of DPCC to be personally present in the court on the next date of the hearing with real-time data on pollution. The court observed that real-time monitoring was to be done by DPCC, but results have not been put in the public domain.

Control entry of orange-tagged vehicles and monitor taxis in Delhi: Calling schemes like 'odd-even' to tackle such an issue mere 'optics', the Bench further directed the state governments to control the entry of orange-tagged vehicles in city. The court further said that a large number of taxis in Delhi have registrations in different states that carry only one passenger. The court asked that these should be monitored so that only Delhi taxis ply during the current period.

Check burning of Municipal Solid Waste in open: The Court directed the Delhi State Government to monitor and to ensure that Municipal Solid Waste is not burned in the city or in the open during this time period.

Chief Secretaries to call for a meeting tomorrow: The court directed the stakeholders to act promptly in respect of the aforesaid aspects and asked the Cabinet Secretaries of states to conduct a virtual or physical meeting on Wednesday with all stakeholders on this issue for a better picture till Friday. The court further said that local SHOs should be made responsible for looking into stubble burning under the supervision of the Chief Secretary. The matter is again listed on Friday.