Stubble burning: SC likely to consider CAQM's compliance report on Thursday

The top court had said efforts are needed to ensure that stubble-burning alternative equipment is used at the grassroots level.

The Supreme Court is likely to consider on October 3 the Commission for Air Quality Management's report on compliance of its directions for curbing air pollution in Delhi-NCR due to stubble burning.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih is hearing a bunch of pleas seeking to reduce air pollution in the region.

The hearing holds importance as the top court on September 27 rapped the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) over its failure to curb air pollution in Delhi due to crop residue burning in the neighbouring states and said it needs to be more active in its approach.

It had expressed dissatisfaction over steps taken by the panel to control pollution and said the CAQM needs to exercise its power under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 to check air pollution due to stubble burning and other reasons.

The top court had said efforts are needed to ensure that stubble-burning alternative equipment is used at the grassroots level.

The panel must immediately step into action to ensure the equipment provided by the Central government for avoiding stubble burning are actually used by the farmers, it had added. It had asked the CAQM to file a better compliance report.

Chairman of CAQM Rajesh Verma had told the apex court that he has held meetings with the deputy commissioners of Punjab and Haryana where incidents of stubble-burning have been reported.

The apex court on September 24 asked the CAQM to explain the steps being taken to curb air pollution caused by crop residue burning.

It had earlier noted that stubble burning was one of the causes for a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR during winters.

On August 27, it termed the pollution control boards of Delhi and NCR states "ineffective" due to staff shortage and asked the body responsible for air quality management in the national capital and adjoining areas to explain how it proposes to tackle pollution and stubble burning which would spike with the onset of winter.

The top court had wondered how the sub-committee on safeguarding and enforcement to be constituted by the CAQM would function due to lack of representation from the pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh due to vacancies.

It directed the five NCR states to fill the vacant posts urgently, preferably before April 30, 2025.

The top court had directed the CAQM chairperson to file an affidavit explaining the steps the commission proposes to take to check the air pollution menace, often attributed to the burning of paddy straw in states adjoining the national capital.