Check on crop burning should be enforced as law
Newdelhi:expressing dissatisfaction over steps taken by the states to curb stubble burning, the National Green Tribunal has said that just like enforcing law to prevent other crimes, the state governments have to own responsibility to prevent air pollution.
The green panel said the fact remains that in spite of efforts made by the authorities, burning of crop is still taking place on the ground level with all its adverse consequences on public health and environment for which no officer is being held accountable.
“Just like enforcing law to prevent other crimes, the State has to own responsibility to enforce law to prevent pollution. The States are not doing this effectively. The States must take appropriate action against failure of its officers for preventing pollution caused by crop burning in such manner as may be appropriate.
“The strategy may be creating awareness, giving incentives or taking punitive action. It is unfortunate that the States have failed to perform its duty and have merely pleaded helplessness on the ground that whatever action was possible have been taken,” the tribunal said in its order uploaded on Wednesday.
The NGT said that even after information from satellite imagery there is hardly any tangible action to stop violations.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 provides for prohibiting burning of any material which is likely to cause air pollution and enforcing such prohibition in an appropriate manner including prosecution and recovery of compensation. “Air pollution has adverse consequences on public health. Pollution free environment is right of every citizen and obligation of every State. This being the legal position, stand of the Centre and the States that they are helpless is unacceptable,” a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice
7 8 9 October
Adarsh Kumar Goel said.
Voicing concern, the bench said that even in five years if the state machinery is not able to communicate to the farmers concerned the techniques of sowing crops without burning of the crop residue of the paddy, it is an “unhappy situation” which needs to be remedied.
The green court on Wednesday also rejected the Punjab government’s plea to issue directions to the Centre to give an incentive of ₹100 per quintal to paddy growers of the state for not burning straw, saying it could pay them on its own if it wanted to.
The tribunal in its order pointed that it was an unhappy situation because in the last five years the state government failed to share with farmers the techniques of sowing wheat without burning residue of paddy.
“If an incentive is to be given it is for the state to decide and provide the same,” the bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel observed.