The National Green Tribunal has hauled the Punjab Government for failing to comply with the orders by the Supreme Court which banned stubble burning in the State.
The counsel was apprised by the NGT that all answers by state regarding the situation are “weak”.
NGT added that some vague statements were being made without any facts or figures.
The Apex Court on Tuesday had pulled up the government of Punjab over its negligence on stubble burning, which has culminated as thick clouds of smog dampening the the air quality across the national capital.
It is pertinent to note that the continued stubble burning has eventually led to AQI level in NCR in the ‘severe’ category.
The Supreme Court told the Punjab government that there can not be a political battle all the time and all they want is to put end to stubble burning with immediate effect.
The Top Court said that how it is to be done is solely the responsibility of the Punjab state , but it should be ensured that the work is done on priority basis/
A bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, while hearing air pollution matters,had given directions to the state of Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to stop stubble burning .
The Bench has also directed to make the chief secretaries and director general of police concerned responsible for overseeing the implementation of the court order.
As a matter of fact, Justice Kaul observed that while travelling through Punjab over the weekend, he saw widespread fires on both sides of the road.
The court has also suggested the Centre to stop supporting minimum support price (MSP) for paddy in Punjab.
The court also said that Centre should rather find ways to make farmers shift to alternative crops.