"Farmers Are Burning Stubble Under Compulsion": National Human Rights Body

National Human Rights Commission on Saturday reprimanded governments of four states, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh holding them responsible for poor management of 'stubble burning' after hearing the version of the Chief Secretaries of the respective states.

NHRC heard the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday in connection with its suo motu cognizance of unabated air pollution in Delhi-NCR as reported in media.

"The Commission, after considering the responses of the concerned States and the Government of NCT of Delhi, and the deliberations thereon is of the opinion that the farmers are burning stubble under compulsion," NHRC said in a press release.

Delivering the judgement, the National Human Rights Commission noted that the governments of the above-mentioned States failed to obviate the recurring problem of stubble burning, which led to the deterioration of air quality.

"The State Governments have to provide harvest machines to get rid of those stubbles but they have failed to provide an adequate number of requisite machines and other measures, as a result, farmers were forced to burn the stubbles, causing pollution," the commission said, adding that none of the States can blame the farmers for stubble burning, instead, it is due to the failure of all four State Governments that the stubble burning is happening in the four States causing enormous pollutants in the air.

Apart from this, NHRC gave four weeks for specific reports to check air pollution in Delhi-NCR and ordered the Chief Secretaries of the respective states to appear before it on the next hearing scheduled to be held on November 18.

"The Chief Secretaries should remain present again either in person or hybrid mode on November 18 for the next hearing in the matter and submit prior to this, their response/affidavits within four days positively on the points raised by it, among others, during the deliberations and considerations of their responses," NHRC said.

"The common points on which reports from the concerned States and the Government of NCT of Delhi within four weeks is to be submitted, includes, the status of assistance to farmers for in-situ management of crop residue through machines and other methods; checking stubble burning; use of mobile and stationary anti-smog guns; dust management through water sprinklers; mechanical road sweeper machines; vehicular pollution, management of construction, demolition and other waste; unpaved roads and potholes surviving trees out of those planted, mechanical management of cleaning septic tanks/sewers, and others," an official communique said.

Earlier, on November 4, the SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) revealed that the stubble-burning contributed 34 per cent to Delhi's PM 2.5 pollution.

As per reports, around 24,000 cases of stubble burning were reported in Punjab state on November 4.

Notably, the National Human Rights Commission, gave four weeks to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh for specific reports to check air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The next hearing is scheduled to be held on November 18.

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