The
Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a status report from Punjab and Haryana
governments on the steps taken to contain stubble burning. The apex court was
hearing a batch of pleas regarding air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. The
top court directed both the states to furnish reports outlining the preventive
and enforcement measures being implemented against stubble burning.
Appearing
for one of the applicants, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan told a Bench
of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and
Justice K Vinod Chandran that the air quality levels had crossed 450 in several
parts of the city and that construction activity was continuing, including
within the Supreme Court premises.
He
argued that while the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had
triggered Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the worsening
conditions warranted immediate activation of Stage IV.
During
the hearing, one lawyer drew the court’s attention to concerns about the
reliability of data from air quality monitoring stations, alleging that some
uploaded figures were false. Responding to this, Additional Solicitor General
Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),
informed the Bench that a status report had already been filed, and that
officers were present to clarify the position. She suggested that the matter be
taken up the next day, but the Bench decided to list it for Monday instead.
Amicus Curiae Aparajita Singh urged the court to
treat the matter with urgency, noting that pollution levels were reaching
“hazardous” limits. She also highlighted new concerns flagged by a Nasa
scientist, who reportedly found that farmers were timing stubble burning to
avoid satellite detection.
Singh
also referred to media reports indicating that local administrations had
advised farmers to burn residue at specific times, raising doubts about the
accuracy of stubble-burning data.
“If
this analysis is correct, the official count may not reflect the true extent of
burning,” she cautioned, adding that the 2018 order requiring CAQM intervention
when the Air Quality Index (AQI) crosses 400 should be revisited.