The Supreme Court has today (16th October 2020) appointed retired judge Justice Madan B Lokur to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh due to rising pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas.
The SC said, "We are only concerned about the citizens of Delhi-NCR being able to breathe in fresh clean air." The top court also declined to accept the centre's request to reconsider the appointment of the one-man committee of Justice (retd) Lokur. It can be noted that the next hearing on the case has been scheduled on October 26.
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The bench which was headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde directed the court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and chief secretaries of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to assist the Lokur panel amid physical surveillance of fields where stubble is burnt.
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The bench was also comprised by Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, they said "The concerned state governments will provide secretarial, security and financial facilities to this committee. The National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme and Bharat Scouts will also be deployed for assisting the panel. The committee will submit its report to the top court in 15 days."
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The centre had also objected to the appointment of the committee and said the concerned states have already been heard. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court "EPCA has been entrusted with the responsibility in this matter. Amicus Curiae has already been appointed." However, these objections were turned down by the bench.
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Just minutes after the Supreme Court order, Central Pollution Control Board chairman Shiv Das Meena said that strict action will be taken against violators. "Every year, the problem of pollution in Delhi remains big in winter. We are working to reduce pollution. We are strictly adhering to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) rules. Action being taken against violators. 50 teams have been sent for on field inspection.”
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There has been a spike in air pollution in Delhi after stubble burning incidents from the three states that border Delhi. The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 concentration was 6% on Thursday, as per a central government agency. However, the Punjab government said that they are not the cause of pollution in Delhi.
