Why not fine Pb, Hry for farm fires: SC

New Delhi, November 25 

People cannot be left to die in a “gas chamber”, the Supreme Court observed on Monday while expressing serious displeasure over the failure of the state machinery to prevent stubble burning. 

While referring to the pollution level in Delhi, the apex court said that living in the Capital was “worse than narak (hell)” as air quality was deteriorating year after year and “now water pollution has also gone up”. It also said the Delhi-NCR citizens were “suffocating” due to air pollution.

An anguished court said stubble burning was still going on in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh despite its order prohibiting it and asked as to why the government machineries of these states should not be asked to compensate people, who are suffering from diseases like cancer and asthma, for their torturous act. “Time has gone where we will keep on waiting. Why this is continuously happening?” a Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta told the Chief Secretary of Punjab who had appeared in the court in pursuance to the summons issued to him.

“As on today, stubble burning is still adding to 8 per cent of the pollution in the region,” the Bench said, adding, “Why we should not impose fine on your state which will be recovered from officials right from top to bottom”.

The Bench told Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, “Should this be tolerated? Is this not worst than internal war? Why people are in this gas chamber? If it is so then you better finish them with explosives. If it goes on like this then it would be better to go rather than suffer from diseases like cancer.” 

Slamming the Punjab government for their failure to stop stubble burning, the bench said, “This year you have contributed more right from the beginning. Has the state said that let the people die of cancer and we will not bother? Can this be the approach of any welfare state... can you treat people like this and permit them to die”.

When the Chief Secretary of Punjab told the court about the steps being taken by them to prevent stubble burning, the bench said it was the “failure” and “inaction” of the state and there was “no will power” to stop this.

Punjab’s Chief Secretary said the state had distributed Rs 19 crore compensation to 29,300 farmers who had not burnt stubble in their fields and they were monitoring the situation of crop residue burning with the help of satellites.

“The question is it does not mean that people of Delhi-NCR should suffer from cancer, lung cancer.... Life span of millions of people has being shortened due to this,” the bench said, adding, “We all are suffocating in Delhi.”

The Bench also came down heavily on the chief secretaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and asked them why stubble burning had increased in their states soon after the apex court’s order prohibiting it.

When Haryana’s Chief Secretary  said stubble burning in the state had gone down by 65 per cent, the Vench said, “Why this has increased after our order? This is not fair that you are making a wrong statement in court, that too in the Supreme Court. We have seen the satellite pictures”.

“Do you want to show that Supreme Court can pass any order but the state will do whatever they want? You are making a mockery of everything. Why you should not be asked to pay compensation?” the Bench asked.

The Bench also pulled up the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.