Stubble burning: Supreme Court asks Punjab and Haryana to consider doles 

NEW DELHI: Observing that stubble burning won’t stop by merely issuing orders, the Supreme Court directed Punjab and Haryana to consider granting a subsidy to their farmers for ending this method of clearing crop residue.

Rough estimates suggest Punjab alone generates about 20 million tonnes of straw - three-quarters of which are burnt down. Stubble burning is in Haryana, Punjab is blamed as a primary cause for air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region.

“We ourselves are saying that this (directions and advisory) is not going to work... The farmers do not have any cheaper method to deal with the issue of stubble. You consider granting some kind of subsidy to them so that crop burning can stop,” a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri, S A Nazeer and M R Shah said.

The farmers should be given some kind of incentive to ensure that stubble burning stops, it added.
The apex court will now hear the matter on February 26 and asked the parties to compile affidavits and suggestions of experts on pollution in the meantime.

Earlier, the Central Pollution Control Board had said it would be filing its report. The States Pollution Control Boards were told to file their reports in the meantime. The court had also asked Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation to file norms and formulations which were required for producing ‘green crackers’.

The top court had said it would hear on January the plea seeking steps to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR caused by stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. It had added that all pending applications, including that of firecracker manufacturers, would be taken up for hearing later.