Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday rubbished his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal's accusations that pollution in the national Capital was primarily due to stubble burning in Punjab.
“In my State, farmers have been provided with better farm equipments which help them in cutting crops in a better way,” said Badal.
He said: “We have asked them several times not to burn the stubble. We have also given them machines, which can help in cutting of crops in a better way but they do some or the other mistake.”
Kejriwal, a day before, primarily blamed stubble burning in the neighbouring States of Punjab and Haryana for the rising air pollution and sought the Centre's intervention to tackle the problem.
“Pollution has increased to an extent that Delhi resembles a gas chamber…Prima facie the biggest reason seems to be burning of stubble in agricultural fields in Haryana and Punjab in huge quantity," Kejriwal had said in a press conference.
Kejriwal had also called for an emergency meeting to take stock of the recent measures announced to combat the soaring pollution level in the national Capital.
The development comes in the wake of the Centre calling a meeting of the Environment Ministers of all the neighbouring States on Monday to put an end to crop burning as Delhi's pollution rises to alarming level.
Kejriwal had met Union Environment Minister Anil Dave on Saturday and sought the Centre's intervention following which the latter declared an emergency in Delhi.