Punjab: A Public Interest Litigation(PIL) was filed in the Supreme court seeking directives to the States of Punjab and Haryana to stop stubble burning by farmers between September 2020 and January 2021.
The plea was filed by two students Aditya Dubey and Aman Banka who have been working in the field of environment and are part of public and social media campaigns. Aditya is a class 12th student and is also a founder of "Plant A Million Trees Initiative" and Aman is a third-year law student who was also a signatory in Aarey forest issue.
The petitioners have prayed for directions asking both the States to "fix a ceiling on the rental of stubble removing machines" during the period. Further, they want Haryana and Punjab to pay all the small and marginal farmers the amount spent by them on renting the stubble removal machines.
"The stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana is a direct result of the inability of the small and marginal farmers of Punjab and Haryana to purchase or rent out stubble removal machines. Due to financial incapacity, the farmers have no option but to burn the stubbles in their fields to clear it for next sowing. Due to the short time frame between harvesting and sowing seasons, the small and marginal farmers do not have the time to manually remove the stubble and thus be forced to burn the same," the plea read.
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However, in the case of farmers who burn in spite of being provided with the facilities, the petitioners sought the States to impose heavy fines.
Contending further the grounds for their plea, the petitioners say that as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), both the States constitute 40 to 45 percent of air pollution in Delhi and fundamental right "Right to Breathe" under "Right to life" is violated by the centre and the States.
Among other prayers to reduce pollution, the petitioners sought directions to limit the operations of all the polluting industries and construction activities to days having AQI less than 150 and if it increases, an automatic ban is imposed on them. In case AQI reaches more than 200, the petitioners say that Delhi's odd-even policy should be automatically activated and followed until it drops below 150.
Lastly, the students sought the directions of the Supreme Court to appoint a one-man commission, preferably retired SC judge Justice Madan Lokur, to control and supervise the States' and the Union's efforts to maintain AQI below hazardous level.
The Supreme Court has already passed an order asking both the States to stop burning stubble. The apex court also discussed various measures to maintain optimal AQI with the chief secretaries of the states. However, the petitioners contest that the measures which are already in place, are not effective.
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