New Delhi. A hearing on the poisonous air of Delhi-NCR was held today in the court of CJI Surya Kant in the Supreme Court. The CJI bench clearly said that this is not a seasonal dispute but an issue of continuous monitoring. The Central Government was asked that even during Covid, the farmers of the country had burnt stubble, yet the sky was blue during that time. Why did this happen. The court said that now this matter will not arise only in October-November but it will be listed regularly so that governments do not just wait for the season to end.
At the very beginning of the hearing, the CJI asked the Center what was the short-term plan to deal with pollution. ASG Aishwarya Bhati said that the government has filed an affidavit which includes complete details of short-term and category-wise contributions. He said that stakeholders and other agencies including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP, CPCB should meet and monitor the action plan.
It is easy to blame Parali every year: CJI Surya Kant
The Supreme Court did not stop here. The CJI asked what was the positive impact of these schemes so far and could the government explain what were its legitimate expectations on the current action plan. The court said that it is not possible to assess the effectiveness of any scheme without presenting the data. CJI Surya Kant raised the question that stubble was burnt even during Covid-19, yet the sky was blue then. The CJI said that it is easy to blame Parali every year while farmers have limited representation in policy-making. He said bluntly-
The issue of stubble should not become political.
· Nor any clash of egos between states or agencies.
There is a need to make farmers aware and sensitive, and not to burden them.
“We have to provide them with the necessary machines.”
On behalf of the central government, ASG admitted that the “target for stubble burning” in all states was zero, but this was not achieved. In response to this, the CJI asked that according to scientific analyses, from which source comes the maximum contribution to pollution. The court said that it is not appropriate to blame any one group without scientific basis.
Construction dust, vehicle pollution and follow-up monitoring
Justice Bagchi, present in the CJI bench, also asked sharp questions to the government. He said that stubble is not the only reason, “There is a ban on construction, but to what extent is it followed?” He said that the government will have to tell the court in which areas violations were seen and what action was taken on them. ASG said that the category-wise contribution of vehicle pollution, stubble burning, construction dust, industries and other sources is recorded in the affidavit, which will be presented in the court.
“We cannot sit idly by”
CJI Surya Kant clearly said that the job of the court is not just to comment but to provide a platform to all the parties where experts can develop concrete solutions. He said that the court will not make guesses nor will it prejudge any source. We cannot sit idly by. The solution will come from experts, the court only provides the platform.
