‘Will take you to task,’ Supreme Court blasts Modi govt over inaction on stubble burning

India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday (Oct 23) scolded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over not doing enough to address the issue of stubble burning in northern parts of the country amid worsening air quality. Saying that the Environment Protection Act had become “toothless,” the court also blasted the state governments of Haryana and Punjab, the two major agrarian states, for not prosecuting the farmers at fault.

The bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih warned they would take the union government to task over the matter.

"We will take the Union of India to task... it has not created any machinery. The Environmental Protection Act has become toothless. You have got rid of punishment and replaced it with a penalty by amending Section 15, and the procedure to be followed for imposing a penalty cannot be followed," the Supreme Court said.

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Responding to it, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the centre, assured the apex court that the act will be made fully operational within 10 days and further rules will be finalised.

Referring to the Haryana and Punjab state governments, the top court said, “If these governments and you (the Centre) were seriously ready to safeguard the environment, then everything would have been done before amendment to Section 15. This is all political, nothing else."

Air quality has severely worsened around the national capital over the past few weeks. It was recorded in the "very poor" category, with several areas of Delhi falling into the "severe" zone on Wednesday. As winters approach, stubble burning is considered as one of the major contributors to the air pollution.

The top court also criticised the chief secretaries of Haryana and Punjab, labelling their efforts to weed out farm fires as "mere eyewash".

"You must answer why you gave a false statement to the Advocate General of Punjab that a request has been made to Central Government for funds for tractors and diesel for farmers. We will issue contempt. We are not leaving you," the court said.

To this, advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Punjab, said, "We will be taking stringent action as we proceed forward."

(With inputs from agencies)