Supreme Court Slams Punjab, Haryana Over Inaction on Air Pollution: ‘Only Meetings, No Concrete Action’
The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure with the Centre, and the Punjab and Haryana governments, over their failure to take adequate steps to combat air pollution in Delhi. As the air quality is expected to worsen in the coming days, the court remarked that nothing substantial is being done to address the issue, except for holding meetings.
The court criticized the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and questioned why no penal action had been taken against farmers involved in stubble burning or the officials responsible for taking action. “The last meeting was held on August 29, with no discussion on stubble burning. Throughout September, there was no meeting, and many pollution control board members were absent,” a bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka noted.
The court further stated, “There are IPS officers in these committees who have the power to enforce rules, yet no meetings have been held. If the statutory committee does not meet, then who will enforce the laws?” The court also expressed concerns about the lack of penal action against offenders. “They don’t want to prosecute anyone. It’s as simple as that. All they do is hold meetings. The harsh reality is that nothing is happening except meetings,” it said.
The Punjab government claimed it needed funds from the Centre and the Delhi government to procure crop management machinery, as farmers in the state could not afford them. The Haryana government said stubble burning data was unavailable due to officials being occupied with the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Centre, in its defense, said softer measures were being used to educate farmers about the harmful effects of stubble burning. The Supreme Court, however, asked, “Why are only nominal fines being imposed? Why aren’t stricter measures being taken?” The court also noted that two positions in CAQM remain vacant and threatened to intervene if they were not filled soon.
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 16.
