The Hindu Impact: SC orders CAQM to submit report on increase in stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana

Supreme Court directs CAQM to submit data on increased stubble burning despite claims of reduction, as reported by The Hindu.

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 22, 2024) took note of an article by The Hindu published on November 22 and directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas to submit to the court by Monday, data and a document cited in the newspaper article and also give clarifications.

The article in question states that the Central government-constituted CAQM had information that the ‘burnt area’ of paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana increased and many farmers were burning stubble after satellites passed over the area to avoid detection, according to multiple sources and documents accessed by The Hindu.

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But the CAQM continued to inform the Supreme Court time and again that over the past couple of years there has been a “significant reduction” in stubble burning incidents, as per the article.

A Bench Justices A.S. Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a plea on air pollution in northern India, especially NCR.

In an earlier hearing, the court’s amicus curiae, senior advocate Aparijita Singh, provided a “shocking” revelation that claims of a considerable dip in stubble burning may not be true.

The Hindu’s report quoted The Minutes of the Meeting (MoM) of the first sitting of the committee formed for estimating AQI on March 7, 2024, which mentioned “many of the farmers in Haryana receive the information regarding the timing of satellite passes; hence they carry out the burning activity after the pass.”