Contrary to his earlier stand, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday admitted that Punjab was also contributing to the Delhi smog. But at the same time, he said that it was “absolutely incorrect” to put the entire blame on Punjab for the same.
“Punjab is also contributing to the Delhi smog due to the westerly upper winds, including those coming from Pakistan. But to put the blame entirely on Punjab is absolutely incorrect,” he said while claiming that about 10-20 percent decline is expected in the number of stubble burning cases this year as against 2018.
The Chief Minister maintained that the Government has initiated against 2,923 farmers, so far, in 20,729 cases of stubble burning reported till November 1 in the State.
As against a total of around 49,000 cases of stubble burning last year, this year, the State Government has, so far, received reports of 20,729 cases, with more than 70 percent of the paddy already harvested.
Despite the Punjab and Haryana High Court having stayed the recovery of fine from farmers penalized last year, the State Government has intensified its drive against the dangerous practice of stubble burning, said the Chief Minister.
Even as he expressed the hope that the Prime Minister will understand, and respond positively, to his letter on the grave issue of the worsening Delhi air pollution, Capt Amarinder said that his Government was fully seized of the problem and was working committedly to put a stop to stubble burning.
He said that the enforcement teams had, till November 1, visited 11,286 fire incidents sites, and Environment Compensation amounting to Rs 41.62 lakh had been imposed in 1585 cases, red entry made in Khasra Girdawaris in 1136 cases, and prosecution or FIR filed in 202 cases against the defaulting farmers.
The process of verifying the remaining fire incidents and levying of environmental compensation was being expedited, said the Chief Minister, adding that the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had also imposed Environmental Compensation of Rs 62 lakh on 31 Combine Harvesters operating without Super SMS.
“These steps are, however, not sufficient to check the problem, as majority of the farmers in Punjab had less than five acres of land, making it economically unviable for them to go for hi-end ways of managing the stubble,” said the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
He pointed that even the High Court, in staying the process of recovery of the penalty imposed last year, had taken note of the growing indebtedness of marginal farmers and the serious issue of farmer suicides, and had chosen “not to add any further financial
woes on the farmers” while ordering that punitive actions may go on in due course of the law.
Compensation by the Central Government was the only solution in the circumstances, said the Chief Minister, adding that the matter was not one of politics, but “a question of the future of our people, which goes beyond politics”.
“The ball is totally in the Centre’s court since most State Governments are bankrupt, with my own state reeling under massive debt,” said Capt Amarinder, adding that the fiscal situation was linked to GST, which had aggravated their economic problems.
Admitting that Punjab was also contributing to the Delhi smog, he said that the statistics showed that the parameters on the factors relating to pollution were higher in Delhi.
“Instead of addressing the problem, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is playing political games,” he said, asking what the AAP leader was doing on the ground to resolve the issue.
The situation had aggravated in recent years as production of paddy had increased, with the last two years reporting record production in Punjab, even though the state’s people were traditionally not rice-eaters, according to the Chief Minister, who pointed out that the cities in the state were also enveloped by smog.
Underlining the need to change the cropping pattern by weaning the farmers away from paddy, he reiterated his demand for MSP for other crops to help promote diversification.
The Central Government has to step in and find a consensus to resolve the crisis, Capt Amarinder stressed.