Slamming the Government’s inaction on stubble burning in Punjab, Delhi High Court said it amounts to "genocide and murder" on Thursday. "It is killing us," said a Bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar, adding that the grave situation was leading to the "decimation" of more than 60 million life years or one million deaths.
"As per the report, air pollution in a city like Delhi deducts three years from your life expectancy. Delhi has a population of over 20 million. So 60 million life years are being decimated and killed. It is akin to one million deaths. If this is not murder, what isIJ This is genocide. Government inaction is the culprit for shortening of life. look at the enormity of the matter. Something drastic needs to be done. Is vote bank more important or the man or woman behind the vote," it said, adding "Punjab (stubble burning) is killing us".
The court said as per various reports, Delhi has been termed as the worst city in India in terms of air quality. "In pure economic terms, look at the cost-benefit you would have if this issue of air pollution is addressed," the Bench said while hearing a PIl initiated by the court on the issue of air pollution in the city.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), meanwhile, showed the court satellite images from NASA, showing the extent of biomass or crop burning in northern India.
Referring to the images, the bench and amicus curiae Kailash Vasdev said the main culprit was Punjab, where majority of fires were happening. Vasdev said that while Haryana and Rajasthan have taken steps like training farmers, employing new tools for cutting crops, recycling the biomass and using it for power generation, Punjab was only asking for money. He also said that as per Punjab's affidavit, it was bringing in political angles and citing economic constraints in preventing biomass burning.
Agreeing with the amicus, the bench also said the State appeared to be "in denial" even though the extent of biomass burning was "much, much more" there than in other States, with resultant smoke reaching as far as Madhya Pradesh.
The bench then asked the counsel for Punjab how it would apologise to the people who have died and those who continue to suffer from respiratory diseases due to air pollution caused by biomass burning.
"You have failed as a State," the bench remarked while referring to Punjab waiving off agricultural loans of over Rs80000 crore, but being unable to arrange Rs9900 crore for procuring "rota and re-seeding machines" to reduce biomass generated after harvesting.
The counsel for Punjab, while defending the State, said the Government may have been slow in acting, but it has taken steps like setting up biomass power plants. He said the State required around Rs9900 crore for the machines and has written to the Centre. Rejecting the contentions, the bench said it had warned all the States well in advance on these issues.
"literally capital punishment as the Capital is punished and that too for no offence. People are being killed in the Capital," the bench said.
Expressing hope that the law and court orders would be followed in letter and spirit, the bench had directed the four States to file status reports regarding action taken by them to ensure stubble burning practice is eliminated.
The court was hearing a PIl initiated by it on the issue of air pollution in the national Capital and had asked the Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab about their action plan to stop the practice of stubble burning, undertaken by farmers to clear the fields before sowing the next crop after Diwali.
Punjab Government, represented by advocate Naginder Benipal, had said immediate action was required by Haryana as it was much closer to Delhi.