SC rejects plea to direct Punjab and Haryana govts to control stubble burning

The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by an activist seeking directions to the Punjab and Haryana governments to take strict measures to control stubble burning, citing that the application does not offer any particulars. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed, “Moreover, when this court has passed several orders on the issue of stubble burning and is still seized of the matter, we do not want to encourage different parties to file applications for intervention and directions, only for the sake of it. The application is accordingly rejected.”

The plea filed by environment activist Vikrant Tongad said that pollution generated from stubble burning in April-May is harmful for the health of not only people living in Delhi-NCR but also those in the states where they are burnt. Children and elderly are especially affected, it said.

“The present application is also necessitated from the fact that air pollution has become a perennial national crisis affecting the lives of millions of people residing in the country, violating their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

“Despite numerous directives issued by this court over the past decades, compliance has remained dismal, with government agencies and stakeholders failing in their duty to protect public health and environment,” the plea argued.