The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Commission for Air Quality Management for failing to control incidents of stubble burning in NCR and adjoining areas, and said it has made no effort to implement its direction to prevent such incidents. The top court said the Commission only kept on calling meetings but did not take penal action against the violators. There was no implementation of directions to stop stubble burning at the ground level and the state governments of Punjab and Haryana have done nothing except recovering nominal compensation from the farmers who indulge in stubble burning, the court added.

A three-judge bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih said the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has not launched a single prosecution against incidents of stubble burning in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the adjoining areas. The bench said neither Punjab nor Haryana has placed on record any document showing efforts made to comply with the directions issued by the Commission.

“We find from the compliance affidavit filed by the commission that no effort is made by the commission to secure implementation of its own directions. There is a sub-committee (of CAQM) on safeguarding and enforcement.

“The last meeting of the sub-committee was held on August 29, 2024 in which there is not even discussion of the implementation of directions. Though there is a specific direction in the order to prosecute wrong doers under section 15 of Environment Protection Act, not a single prosecution has been launched,” the bench said.

The SC said in one of the CAQM sub-committee meetings held on August 29, only five out of 11 members were present apart from the fact that the committee did not discuss implementation of directions.