Delhi is staring at a harsh winter, as farmers in Punjab and Haryana begin stubble burning. Every year, the national capital struggles to breathe with smog polluting the air viciously.
However, just ahead of the crisis, the Supreme Court has stepped in. The court rapped the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for not taking adequate steps to stop stubble burning. The SC bench headed by Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih called the CAQM a silent spectator, doing nothing.
No Penal Action by CAQM
The top court observed that in the last three years, the central Air Quality panel has given only 82 directions and constituted only three subcommittees. They met only once in three months. No penal action under Sec 14 of the CAQM Act (Penalty for contravention of provisions of the Act, Rules, Orders, or Directions).
The Justices asked the Commission, whose chairman Rajesh Verma was virtually present, why it didn’t reprimand local officials who failed to prevent stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. They questioned why the Central Air Quality Body didn’t take strong penal actions despite its sweeping powers that empower it to shut down even polluting units.
Follow-up Action & Further Hearing
Asking CAQM to be more active, the court instructed the central Air Quality panel to submit a better compliance report, with details of the sub-commitees’ meetings. The use of equipment to clear crop residues from central funds as an alternative to stubble burning has also been suggested.
With the next hearing posted for October 3, CAQM’s action plan remains crucial to stop stubble burning. Otherwise winter in Delhi this year will be a mayhem repeated.
What the Supreme Court told the CAQM:
“Every year we see stubble burning. There has been a total non-compliance of the CAQM Act. Have the committees been constituted? Please share with us any single step taken. Which direction have you used under the Act? You are silent spectators. You are doing nothing.”
Source: India Today | Live Law
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