People can’t be left to die, apex court says, summons CSs of Haryana, Punjab, UP on November 6
The Supreme Court on Monday directed neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to stop stubble burning and all construction and demolition activities as well as garbage and waste burning in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) till further orders.
A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta directed the Chief Secretaries of the three States as well as the District Collectors and the police machinery to ensure that not even a single instance of stubble burning takes place there henceforth.
The Bench said in case of violation of its directions regarding steps to curb stubble burning, it would haul up the entire administration, right from the Chief Secretary to the gram panchayat and sarpanch level, and they all would be held responsible.
The top court summoned the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and UP on November 6 saying the time has come to “fix accountability” for this kind of situation which violates the right to life of citizens.
The top court further said `1 lakh penalty will be imposed on construction or demolition activities in Delhi-NCR and the offenders involved in garbage or waste burning would be penalised by `5,000.
“People in Delhi-NCR are losing precious years of their lives and cannot be left to die due to the atrocious pollution situation which reflects a shocking state of affairs” the SC said on Monday.
The court issued a series of tough punitive directions to curb the alarming pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, region and said citizens cannot be evacuated from the national Capital.
The court made this observation amid reports that people have been advised not to visit the city and leave it due to the environmental hazard.
The court directed the Centre and the States concerned to prepare a roadmap within three weeks to prevent a situation in future like the one that is currently prevailing in the region due to toxic air quality.
During the hearing, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the top court as amicus curiae in the pollution matter, told the Bench that as per the recent affidavit filed by the Centre, stubble burning contributes to around 46 per cent pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The Bench observed that it is shocking that every year, Delhi-NCR is chocking due to severe pollution and “we are not able to do anything”.
“It cannot be done in a civilised country,” said the Bench, adding, “If people do not respect rights of others, then they also have no rights. Right to life is the most important right”.
“No room is safe to live in Delhi. People are not safe even inside their house. It is atrocious,” the Bench said.
“The air quality index (AQI) level in bedrooms is above 500-600. This is the figure in Lutyens’ Delhi. Can we survive in this? This is not the way we can survive. People are losing precious years of their life in Delhi due to this,” it said.
While directing authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to take steps to extinguish the burning stubbles, the Bench said it has no sympathy for farmers indulging in it as they are putting lives of others at risk.
During the hearing, the Bench asked as to why there should be unabated stubble burning year after year in these areas and though a lot of hue and cry has been made over it, the States have not done anything to tackle the problem.
“You are asking people to die. Your states (Punjab and Haryana) are also badly affected. Is this the administration left in Punjab and Haryana? Every year this is happening. We will fasten the liability of States and panchayats also,” the Bench said.
“People are being advised not to come to Delhi. Who is responsible for this? The State Governments are responsible. They are only interested in electioneering. They do not take any responsibility. We will not tolerate this,” it said.
The amicus told the apex court that as per the Centre’s affidavit, crop burning has gone up by 7 per cent in Punjab and come down by 17 per cent in Haryana while data was not available about western Uttar Pradesh.
It also asked Governments of the three States to explain as to why they should not be asked to pay compensation for the damage caused as they have “totally failed” to prevent stubble burning in their respective areas.
The Bench also questioned the Delhi Government over its much-publicised odd-even vehicle scheme, which kicked off Monday, and directed it to place the data of pollution levels of previous periods when the scheme was put in place to curb air pollution.
Regarding pollution in Delhi-NCR due to dust on roads, the Bench directed that water be sprinkled on roads having more dust and traffic plan be prepared so as to tackle the issue of pollution due to traffic congestion.
The top court also directed authorities to ensure there is no power cut in Delhi-NCR so that generators are not used except in emergency essential services.